SPAWN

spawn

(noun) the mass of eggs deposited by fish or amphibians or molluscs

spawn

(verb) lay spawn; “The salmon swims upstream to spawn”

engender, breed, spawn

(verb) call forth

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology 1

Verb

spawn (third-person singular simple present spawns, present participle spawning, simple past and past participle spawned)

(transitive) To produce or deposit (eggs) in water.

(transitive) To generate, bring into being, especially non-mammalian beings in very large numbers.

(transitive) To bring forth in general.

(transitive) To induce (aquatic organisms) to spawn.

(transitive) To plant with fungal spawn.

(intransitive) To deposit (numerous) eggs in water.

(intransitive) To reproduce, especially in large numbers.

(ergative, video games, of a character or object) (To cause) to appear spontaneously in a game at a certain point and time.

Etymology 2

Noun

spawn (plural spawn or spawns)

The numerous eggs of an aquatic organism.

Mushroom mycelium prepared for (aided) propagation.

(by extension, sometimes, derogatory) Any germ or seed, even a figurative source; offspring.

(horticulture) The buds or branches produced from underground stems.

(video games) The location in a game where characters or objects spontaneously appear.

Anagrams

• WPANs, pawns

Etymology

Proper noun

Spawn

A surname.

Anagrams

• WPANs, pawns

Source: Wiktionary


Spawn, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spawned; p. pr. & vb. n. Spawning.] Etym: [OE. spanen, OF. espandre, properly, to shed, spread, L. expandere to spread out. See Expand.]

1. To produce or deposit (eggs), as fishes or frogs do.

2. To bring forth; to generate; -- used in contempt. One edition [of books] spawneth another. Fuller.

Spawn, v. i.

1. To deposit eggs, as fish or frogs do.

2. To issue, as offspring; -- used contemptuously.

Spawn, n. Etym: [sq. root170. See Spawn, v. t.]

1. The ova, or eggs, of fishes, oysters, and other aquatic animals.

2. Any product or offspring; -- used contemptuously.

3. (Hort.)

Definition: The buds or branches produced from underground stems.

4. (Bot.)

Definition: The white fibrous matter forming the matrix from which fungi. Spawn eater (Zoöl.), a small American cyprinoid fish (Notropis Hudsonius) allied to the dace.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

23 November 2024

THEORETICAL

(adjective) concerned primarily with theories or hypotheses rather than practical considerations; “theoretical science”


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