SPENCER

Spencer, Herbert Spencer

(noun) English philosopher and sociologist who applied the theory of natural selection to human societies (1820-1903)

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Proper noun

Spencer

An English occupational surname.

A male given name from surnames, of general 19th century and later usage.

A female given name from surnames, of modern usage.

A town in Massachusetts; named for Massachusetts governor Spencer Phips.

A city, the county seat of Clay County, Iowa.

A city in Oklahoma.

A town in North Carolina; named for railroad executive Samuel Spencer.

A town and village in New York; named for New York statesman Ambrose Spencer.

A city, the county seat of Roane County, West Virginia.

A town, the county seat of Owen County, Indiana; named for Indiana militia officer Spier Spencer.

A town and village in Wisconsin; named for the town in Massachusetts.

A town, the county seat of Van Buren County, Tennessee; named for longhunter Thomas Sharp Spencer.

A village in Ohio.

A village in Nebraska; perhaps named for Alabama statesman George E. Spencer.

A suburb of Central Coast, New South Wales; probably named for British politician George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer.

A city in South Dakota; named for railroad official H. Spencer.

A hamlet in Idaho.

An unincorporated community in Missouri; named for a local merchant.

An unincorporated community in Virginia; named for first settler James Spencer Jr.

An English earldom.

Etymology 1

Noun

spencer (plural spencers)

(historical) A short double-breasted men's overcoat worn in the 18th and 19th centuries.

(historical) A short, close-fitting jacket primarily worn by women and children in the early 19th century.

(historical) A (usually woollen) vest worn by women and girls for extra warmth.

A large loose-fitted gaffsail on a square-rigger or barque, used from the nineteenth century onwards.

Etymology 2

Noun

spencer (plural spencers)

(archaic) One who works in a spence or buttery.

Source: Wiktionary

Spen"cer, n. Etym: [OF. despensier. See Spence, and cf. Dispenser.]

Definition: One who has the care of the spence, or buttery. [Obs.] Promptorium Parvulorum.

Spen"cer, n. Etym: [From the third Earl Spencer, who first wore it, or brought it into fashion.]

Definition: A short jacket worn by men and by women. Ld. Lutton.

Spen"cer, n. (Naut.)

Definition: A fore-and-aft sail, abaft the foremast or the mainmast, hoisted upon a small supplementary mast and set with a gaff and no boom; a trysail carried at the foremast or mainmast; -- named after its inventor, Knight Spencer, of England [1802]. Spencer mast, a small mast just abaft the foremast or mainmast, for hoisting the spencer. R. H. Dana, Jr.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition