spur: [OE] Spur goes back ultimately to Indo- European *sper- ‘hit with the foot, kick’ (source also of English spurn [OE], which originally meant literally ‘hit with the foot, trip over’). From it was descended the prehistoric Germanic noun *spuron, which produced German sporn ‘spur’, Dutch spoor ‘track’ (source of English spoor [19]), and Swedish sporre ‘spur’ as well as English spur. => spoor, spurn
spur (n.)
Old English spura, spora "metal implement worn on the heel to goad a horse" (related to spurnan "to kick"), from Proto-Germanic *spuron (cognates: Old Norse spori, Middle Dutch spore, Dutch spoor, Old High German sporo, German Sporn "spur"), from PIE *spere- "ankle" (see spurn). Related to Dutch spoor, Old English spor "track, footprint, trace."
Generalized sense of "anything that urges on, stimulus," is from late 14c. As a sharp projection on the leg of a cock, from 1540s. Meaning "a ridge projecting off a mountain mass" is recorded from 1650s. Of railway lines from 1837. "Widely extended senses ... are characteristic of a horsey race" [Weekley]. Expression on the spur of the moment (1801) preserves archaic phrase on the spur "in great haste" (1520s). To win one's spurs is to gain knighthood by some valorous act, gilded spurs being the distinctive mark of a knight.
spur (v.)
c. 1200, from spur (n.). Figurative use from c. 1500. Related: Spurred; spurring. Old English had spyrian, but it meant "follow the track of, track down, investigate."
双语例句
1. The trade pacts will spur an exodus of US businesses to Mexico.
这些贸易协定将会促使大批美国企业涌向墨西哥。
来自柯林斯例句
2. It wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision. We discussed it in detail beforehand.
这可不是头脑一热作出的决定。我们事先仔细地讨论过。
来自柯林斯例句
3. Redundancy is the spur for many to embark on new careers.
裁员促使很多人开始从事新事业。
来自柯林斯例句
4. His speech was a powerful spur to action.
他的讲话很有鼓动力。
来自《权威词典》
5. Even a small success would spur me on to greater effort.