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in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle English sparke, sperke, from Old English spearca, from Proto-West Germanic *sparkō (compare Saterland Frisian Spoorke, West Frisian spark, Dutch spark, German Low German Sparke, German Sparke), perhaps from Proto-Germanic *sparkaz (“lively, energetic”), from Proto-Indo-European *sperg- (“to strew, sprinkle”) (compare Breton erc’h (“snow”), Latin spargō (“to scatter, spread”), sparsus (“scattered”), Lithuanian sprógti (“to germinate”), Ancient Greek σπαργάω (spargáō, “to swell”), Avestan 𐬟𐬭𐬀𐬯𐬞𐬀𐬭𐬈𐬔𐬀 (frasparega, “branch, twig”), Sanskrit पर्जन्य (parjanya, “rain, rain god”)).
Noun
spark (plural sparks)
- A small particle of glowing matter, either molten or on fire, resulting from an electrical surge or excessive heat created by friction.
- A short or small burst of electrical discharge.
- A small, shining body, or transient light; a sparkle.
- (figuratively) A small amount of something, such as an idea or romantic affection, that has the potential to become something greater, just as a spark can start a fire.
c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, ”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :if any spark of life be yet remaining
- , Book IV, Chapter XVII
- But though we have, here and there, a little of this clear light, some sparks of bright knowledge
1990, Wayne Jancik, The Billboard Book of One-Hit Wonders, →ISBN, page 173:When the latter disk showed some sparks, Moman contacted MGM's Jim Vienneau, who picked up the waxing for national release.
2013 September 1, Phil McNulty, BBC Sport:Everton's Marouane Fellaini looks one certain arrival but Moyes, who also saw United held to a draw by Chelsea at Old Trafford on Monday, needs even more of a spark in a midfield that looked laboured by this team's standards.
- Any of various lycaenid butterflies of the Indomalayan genus Sinthusa.
- (in the plural sparks but treated as a singular) A ship's radio operator.
- (UK, slang) An electrician.
1999, Des Lyver, Graham Swainson, Basics of Video Lighting, page 103:At the other extreme, with limitless budgets all they have to do is dream up amazing lighting rigs to be constructed and operated by the huge team of gaffers and sparks, with their generators, discharge lights, flags, gobos and brutes.
- (cellular automata) A small collection of cells which briefly appears at the edge of a larger pattern before dying off.
Synonyms
- (small particle of glowing matter): ember, gnast, funk
- (small amount of something, such as an idea, that has the potential to become something greater): beginnings, germ, glimmer
Derived terms
Descendants
Translations
particle of glowing matter
- Afrikaans: vonk
- Albanian: xixë (sq) f, shtiaz f, shkëndijë (sq) f
- Arabic: شَرَارَة f (šarāra)
- Egyptian Arabic: شرارة f (šarāra)
- Armenian: կայծ (hy) (kayc)
- Old Armenian: կայծ (kayc), կայծակն (kaycakn)
- Aromanian: scãntealji f, scãntealje f
- Assamese: ফিৰিঙটি (phiriṅoti)
- Azerbaijani: qığılcım
- Basque: txinparta
- Belarusian: і́скра f (ískra)
- Bengali: স্ফুলিঙ্গ (bn) (sphuliṅgo)
- Bulgarian: искра́ (bg) f (iskrá)
- Burmese: မီးပွား (my) (mi:pwa:)
- Catalan: espurna (ca) f, guspira (ca) f
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 火花 (zh) (huǒhuā)
- Czech: jiskra (cs) f
- Danish: gnist c
- Dutch: vonk (nl) f, sprank (nl) f, vuursprank f
- Esperanto: fajrero (eo)
- Estonian: säde (et)
- Faroese: neisti m
- Finnish: kipinä (fi)
- French: étincelle (fr) f, flammèche (fr) f
- Galician: faísca (gl) f, muxica f, moxena f, fírgoa f, famelga f, funisca f
- Georgian: ნაპერწკალი (naṗerc̣ḳali)
- German: Funke (de) m
- Greek: σπινθήρας (el) m (spinthíras)
- Ancient: σπινθήρ m (spinthḗr)
- Hebrew: נִיצוֹץ (he) m (nitzótz), גֵּץ (he) m (getz), זִיק (he) m (ziq)
- Hindi: चिंगारी (hi) f (ciṅgārī)
- Hungarian: szikra (hu)
- Icelandic: neisti (is) m
- Ido: cintilo (io)
- Irish: drithle f, spréach f, splanc f
- Italian: scintilla (it) f
- Japanese: 火花 (ja) (ひばな, hibana)
- Kazakh: ұшқын (ūşqyn)
- Khmer: ផ្កាភ្លើង (km) (pkaa pləəŋ), កំទេចភ្លើង (kɑmtɨc pləəŋ)
- Korean: 불꽃 (ko) (bulkkot)
- Kurdish:
- Central Kurdish: پِرشِنگ (pirşing)
- Kyrgyz: учкун (ky) (uckun)
- Lao: ປະກາຍ (pa kāi), ລູກໄຟ (lūk fai)
- Latgalian: dzierksts, spierksts
- Latin: scintilla f
- Latvian: dzirkstele f
- Lithuanian: kibirkštis m
- Luxembourgish: Fonk
- Macedonian: и́скра f (ískra)
- Malayalam: തീപ്പൊരി (ml) (tīppori)
- Maori: korā
- Mazanderani: سریکه (serikke)
- Middle English: sparke, sparkel
- Nanai: посин (posin)
- Norwegian:
- Bokmål: gnist (no) m
- Nynorsk: gneiste m
- Occitan: beluga (oc) f, scintila f
- Old Prussian: spanxti f
- Persian: جرقه (fa) (jeraqqe), اخگر (fa) (axgar), ابیز (fa) (abiz), شراره (fa) (šarâre)
- Plautdietsch: Funk f
- Polish: iskra (pl) f
- Portuguese: faísca (pt) f, fagulha (pt) f, chispa (pt) f, faúlha (pt) f, centelha (pt) f
- Romanian: scânteie (ro) f
- Romansch: sbrinzel m
- Russian: и́скра (ru) f (ískra), искра́ (ru) f (iskrá)
- Sardinian: schinchidha f, scincidha f
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: искра f, варница f, жижица f, жижа f
- Roman: iskra (sh) f, varnica (sh) f, žižica (sh) f, žiža (sh) f
- Sicilian: faiḍḍa f, spisiḍḍa f
- Slovak: iskra f
- Slovene: iskra (sl) f
- Sorbian:
- Lower Sorbian: škrja f
- Upper Sorbian: škra f
- Spanish: chispa (es) f, centella (es) f, pavesa (es) f, chiribita f
- Swedish: gnista (sv) c
- Tajik: шарора (šarora)
- Thai: ประกาย (th) (bprà-gaai), ลูกไฟ (lûuk-fai)
- Turkish: kıvılcım (tr)
- Turkmen: uçgun
- Ukrainian: і́скра f (ískra)
- Urdu: چنگاری f (cingārī)
- Uzbek: uchqun (uz)
- Vietnamese: tia lửa
- Walloon: spite (wa) f, blawete (wa) f, spitron (wa) m, flamaxhe (wa) f
- Welsh: gwreichionen f
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burst of electrical discharge
figurative: small amount of something, which has the potential to become something greater
Verb
spark (third-person singular simple present sparks, present participle sparking, simple past and past participle sparked)
- (transitive, figurative) To trigger, kindle into activity (an argument, etc).
2012 May 5, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport:The introduction of substitute Andy Carroll sparked Liverpool into life and he pulled a goal back just after the hour - and thought he had equalised as Kenny Dalglish's side laid siege to Chelsea's goal in the closing stages.
- (transitive) To light; to kindle.
2009, Alex Jenson, The Serotonin Grand Prix, page 12:Byron sparked the cigarette. He sucked it dramatically and thrust it into Marko's hand.
- (intransitive) To give off a spark or sparks.
- (intransitive, of a gun) To shoot; to fire
1998 November 10, “Grid Iron Rap” (track 17), in Tical 2000: Judgement Day, performed by Method Man, Streetlife (rapper):[Streetlife]:Fuck a peace talk, let the gun spark, on the streets of New York.
2004, “U Ain't A Killer” (track 10), in The War Mixtape, performed by Akala (rapper):All of a sudden, everybody tuggin', everybody dark. Everybody gums runnin', 'til the guns spark.
2022 February 22, “Raw Hip Hop” (track 2), in IMAMCRU12, performed by KRS-One:Guns spark in the dark, it was all just a part of the eighties Bronx scene that created all.
Derived terms
Translations
Etymology 2
Probably Scandinavian, akin to Old Norse sparkr (“sprightly”).
Noun
spark (plural sparks)
- A gallant; a foppish young man.
1718, Mat[thew] Prior, “Alma: Or, The Progress of the Mind”, in Poems on Several Occasions, London: Jacob Tonson , and John Barber , →OCLC:The finest sparks and cleanest beaux.
1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volumes (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A Millar, , →OCLC:Jones had no sooner quitted the room, than the petty-fogger, in a whispering tone, asked Mrs Whitefield, “If she knew who that fine spark was?”
1777, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The School for Scandal, I.ii:He will retrieve his errors yet—their worthy Father, once my honour'd master, was at his years nearly as wild a spark.
- A beau, lover.
Verb
spark (third-person singular simple present sparks, present participle sparking, simple past and past participle sparked)
- (intransitive, archaic) To woo, court; to act the gallant or beau.
Synonyms
Derived terms
References
- Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts, G.&C. Merriam Co., 1967
Anagrams
Danish
Etymology
From Old Norse spark, verbal noun to sparka (“to kick”).
Pronunciation
Noun
spark n (singular definite sparket, plural indefinite spark)
- kick
Inflection
Verb
spark
- imperative of sparke
Faroese
Pronunciation
Noun
spark n (genitive singular sparks, plural spørk)
- kick
Declension
Derived terms
Icelandic
Etymology
From sparka (“to kick”).
Pronunciation
Noun
spark n (genitive singular sparks, nominative plural spörk)
- kick
Declension
Middle English
Noun
spark
- Alternative form of sparke
Norwegian Bokmål
Noun
spark n (definite singular sparket, indefinite plural spark, definite plural sparka or sparkene)
- a kick (with a foot)
- Short for sparkstøtting (“kicksled”).
Derived terms
Related terms
Verb
spark
- imperative of sparke
Norwegian Nynorsk
Noun
spark n (definite singular sparket, indefinite plural spark, definite plural sparka)
- a kick (with a foot)
- Short for sparkstøtting (“kicksled”).
Derived terms
Swedish
Etymology
From Old Norse spark, from sparka (“to kick”).
Noun
spark c
- kick
- Short for sparkstötting (“kicksled”).
- (in "få sparken") (to be given) the boot (get fired from work)
Declension
Anagrams