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verb (past sprang |spraNG| or sprung |sprəNG| ; past participle sprung)

1. no object, with adverbial of direction move or jump suddenly or rapidly upward or forward:

〈人･動物などが〉 «…から/…に» (急いで･突然)跳びはねる «out of, from/towards» , «…に» 跳びかかる «at»

e.g. I sprang out of bed

e.g. figurative : they sprang to her defense.

move rapidly or suddenly from a constrained position by or as if by the action of a spring:

〖～＋副詞〗 〈物が〉急に［激しく］動く(back, up); 〖～ C〗 突然動いてC〈状態〉になる; 〈人･物が〉急に現れる(up)

e.g. the drawer sprang open.

operate suddenly by means of a mechanism:

e.g. no object : the engine sprang into life.

with object cause (a game bird) to rise from cover.

with object informal bring about the escape or release of (a prisoner):

｟くだけて｠ «…から» 〈囚人･人質など〉を脱獄［脱出］させる «from» .

e.g. the president sought to spring the hostages.

2. no object (spring from) originate or arise from:

｟書｠ «…に» 起因する «from»

e.g. madness and creativity could spring from the same source.

appear suddenly or unexpectedly from:

〈言葉などが〉 【頭･唇などに】すぐに思い浮かぶ［出てくる］ «to» ; 〈感情･涙などが〉 【顔･目に】突然現れる［湧き出る］ «to, into»

e.g. tears sprang from his eyes.

(spring up) suddenly develop or appear:

e.g. a terrible storm sprang up.

with object (spring something on) present or propose something suddenly or unexpectedly to (someone):

【人に対して】〈思いがけないこと〉をする［尋ねる, 言う］ «on»

e.g. we decided to spring a surprise on them.

3. with object (usually as adjective sprung) cushion or fit (a vehicle or item of furniture) with springs:

e.g. a fully sprung mattress.

4. no object (especially of wood) become warped or split.

with object (of a boat) suffer splitting of (a mast or other part).

5. no object (spring for) North American informal pay for, especially as a treat for someone else:

｟米･くだけて｠ «…の» 代金を払う «for» .

e.g. he's never offered to spring for dinner.

with object archaic spend (money):

e.g. he might spring a few pennies more.

1. the season after winter and before summer, in which vegetation begins to appear, in the northern hemisphere from March to May and in the southern hemisphere from September to November:

〖時にS-; 通例無冠詞単数形またはthe ～〗 春, 春季 (!具体例ではa ～; その際しばしば修飾語を伴う) 〘通例北半球では3, 4, 5月, 南半球では9, 10, 11月; 天文学上は春分から夏至まで〙; 〖名詞の前で形容詞的に〗春の, 春季の, 春向きの

e.g. in spring the garden is a feast of blossom

e.g. as modifier : spring rain

e.g. figurative : he was in the spring of his years.

Astronomy the period from the vernal equinox to the summer solstice.

short for spring tide.

大潮〘満月と新月のころに潮の干満の差が最大になること; → neap 〙

2. a resilient device, typically a helical metal coil, that can be pressed or pulled but returns to its former shape when released, used chiefly to exert constant tension or absorb movement.

〖しばしば～s〗 (ベッド･自動車などに使われる)(コイル)ばね

the ability to spring back strongly; elasticity:

はね返る力, 弾性; 〖a ～〗 (足の)ばね

e.g. the mattress has lost its spring.

3. in singular a sudden jump upward or forward:

〖a ～〗 (急に)跳ぶ［はねる］こと, 跳躍.

e.g. with a sudden spring, he leapt onto the table.

informal, dated an escape or release from prison.

4. a place where water or oil wells up from an underground source, or the basin or flow formed in such a way:

〖通例～s〗 泉, 水源地

e.g. as modifier : spring water.

the origin or a source of something:

e.g. the place was a spring of musical talent.

5. an upward curvature of a ship's deck planking from the horizontal.

a split in a wooden plank or spar under strain.

(of a boat or container) develop a leak. originally in nautical use, referring to timbers springing out of position.

cause a trap for catching animals to close suddenly.

trick someone into doing something:

e.g. she decided to spring the trap after noticing that her husband was behaving erratically.

springless adjective

springlike |ˈspriNGˌlīk| adjective

Old English spring (noun), springan (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch and German springen. Early use in the senses ‘head of a well’ and ‘rush out in a stream’ gave rise to the figurative use ‘originate’.