Spang

//spæŋ// adv, name, noun, verb

adv, name, noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A shiny ornament or object; a spangle obsolete

    "With glittering spangs that did like starres appeare."

  2. 2
    A bound or spring; a leap. Scotland

    "Set roast-beef and pudding on the opposite side o' the pit o' Tophet, and an Englishman will mak a spang at it—[…]"

  3. 3
    A span. Scotland
Verb
  1. 1
    To set with bright points: star or spangle.
  2. 2
    Of a flying object (such as a bullet), To strike or ricochet with a loud report. intransitive

    "Occasional bullets buzzed in the air and spanged into tree trunks."

  3. 3
    To leap; spring. Scotland, UK, dialectal, intransitive

    "a. 1758, Allan Ramsay, epistle to Robert Yarde But when they spang o'er reason's fence, / We smart for't at our own expense."

  4. 4
    leap, jerk, bang wordnet
  5. 5
    To hitch; fasten.
Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    To cause to spring; set forcibly in motion; throw with violence. Scotland, UK, dialectal, transitive
Adverb
  1. 1
    Suddenly; slap, smack. dated, not-comparable

    "And I didn't stop until I found myself spang in the middle of the Musée de Cluny, clutching the rack."

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname.

Synonyms

All synonyms
accuratelybangexactlyflushfulljust

Example

More examples

"With glittering spangs that did like starres appeare."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English spang (“a small piece of ornamental metal; spangle; small ornament; a bowl or cup”), likely from Middle Dutch spange (“buckle, clasp”) or Old English spang (“buckle, clasp”).

Etymology 2

Onomatopoeic.

Etymology 3

Uncertain. Cognate with Scots spang, and possibly related to English spank.

Etymology 4

See span

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.