# spurn

> English word · Verb · IPA /spɜːn/ · frequency rank #62,530

## Definitions
1. To reject disdainfully; contemn; scorn.
2. To reject something by pushing it away with the foot.
3. To waste; fail to make the most of (an opportunity)
4. To kick or toss up the heels.

## Etymology
From Middle English spurnen, spornen, from Old English spurnan (“to strike against, kick, spurn, reject; stumble”), from Proto-Germanic *spurnaną (“to tread, kick, knock out”), from Proto-Indo-European *sperH-.
Cognate with Scots spurn (“to strike, push, kick”), German spornen (“to spur on”), Icelandic sporna, spyrna (“to kick”), Latin spernō (“despise, distain, scorn”). Related to spur and spread.

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