# sprit

> English word · Noun · IPA /spɹɪt/ · frequency rank #92,101

## Definitions
1. A spar between mast and upper outer corner of a spritsail on sailing boats.
2. A shoot; a sprout.

## Etymology
From Middle English sprete, from Old English sprēot (“pole, pike, spear”), from Proto-Germanic *spreut, related to Proto-West Germanic *sprutō (“shoot, sprout”). Cognate with West Frisian spriet (“sprit, spoke”), Dutch spriet (“a sprit, blade, spar, shoot, sprig”), Middle High German spriez (“sprout, twig”).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/sprit