English Explanatory Dictionary

spry

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Having great power of leaping or running; nimble; active.
  2. Vigorous; lively; cheerful; sprightly.
name
  1. A surname.

Pronunciation

/spɹaɪ/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-spry.wav

Word forms

spry sprier spriest Sprys

Etymology

From British dialectal sprey, from Old Norse sprækr (“nimble, lively”) from Proto-Germanic *sprēkiz (“lively”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)preg- (“to strew, jerk, sprinkle, scatter”). Cognate with Icelandic sprækur (“lively, spry”), Norwegian sprek (“lively, healthy”), dialectal Swedish sprygg (“brisk, very active, skittish”). More at spark. Related to sprack, sprig, sprug, freckle.

Derived words

spryly spryness
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