Know Your Next Word : span-new





4. span-new :



adjective :

Brand-new



usage :

  • Nita Patton : I had fun last time and I'd have fun again, especially as Columbus now boasts a bran, span-new hotel.(Stanley P. Hirshson : General Patton : HarperCollins : 2003.)

    note :

    From Middle English spannewe, from Old Norse spannyr, from spann (chip of wood) + nyr (new). Ultimately from the Indo-European root newo- (new) that also gave us new, neo-, neon, novice, novel, novelty, innovate, and renovate.

    The same term appears in the phrase spick-and-span-new which was later shortened into spick-and-span. A spick is a spike; a spick-and-span-new ship referred to a brand new ship, one that is made up of new nails and new wood.



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