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outspan

verb

Etymology

From out + span. Compare Afrikaans uitspan.

  1. derived from *(s)pend-✻ — “to stretch”
  2. inherited from *spannō✻ — “span, handbreadth”
  3. inherited from spann
  4. inherited from spanne
  5. compounded as outspan — “out + span”

Definitions

  1. To release oxen from a harness.

    • We had outspanned on in a flat covered with close grass about two feet high…The wagons, four in number, were drawn up off the road two abreast.

  2. The place where one releases oxen from a harness.

    • At the outspan or on the road or footpath he shouldered them aside as one walks through standing corn, not aggressively, but with the superb indifference of right and habit unquestioned.

  3. An area on a farm kept available for travellers to rest and refresh their animals.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for outspan. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA