sprig

[ sprig ]

/ sprɪg /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR sprig ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a small spray of some plant with its leaves, flowers, etc.

an ornament having the form of such a spray.

a shoot, twig, or small branch.

Facetious. a scion, offspring, or heir of a family, class, etc.

a youth or young fellow.

glazier's point.

a headless brad.

Metallurgy.

a small peg for reinforcing the walls of a mold.
a metal insert, used to chill certain portions of cast metal, that becomes an integral part of the finished casting.

verb (used with object), sprigged, sprig·ging.

to mark or decorate (fabrics, pottery, etc.) with a design of sprigs.

to fasten with brads.

Horticulture. to propagate a plant, especially grass, by planting individual stolons.

Metallurgy. to reinforce the walls of (a mold) with sprigs.

to remove a sprig or sprigs from (a plant).

Origin of sprig

1300–50; Middle English sprigge (noun); origin uncertain; sense “peg” perhaps of distinct orig.; cf. sprag¹, spray²

Words nearby sprig

spree killer, sprekelia, sprent, sprier, spriest, sprig, spriggy, sprightful, sprightly, sprigtail, spring

Example sentences from the Web for sprig

Even the celebrated shot of Uncle Paulie cutting garlic with a razor blade has a sprig of parsley in the foreground.

Goodfellas Turns 20 |Sean Macaulay |September 21, 2010 |DAILY BEAST
She had folded her fan; she stretched out her arm mechanically and plucked a sprig of azalea.

Lady Barbarina |Henry James
The two city-bred artists knew a wall-flower from a cabbage and a rose from a sprig of asparagus, and that was all.

The Golden Butterfly |Walter Besant
This he presented to me with a grace that dignified the sprig into a bouquet.

The Fortunate Isles |Mary Stuart Boyd

Well I should say some where near ten thousand; that sprig in her hair cost a clean five.

The Sword of Damocles |Anna Katharine Green
His smart blue bonnet, with sprig of holly and eagle's feather, was already recognised as the Scottish headgear.

The World's Greatest Books, Vol VIII |Arthur Mee and J.A. Hammerton, Eds.

British Dictionary definitions for sprig

sprig

/ (sprɪɡ) /

noun

a shoot, twig, or sprout of a tree, shrub, etc; spray

an ornamental device resembling a spray of leaves or flowers

a small wire nail without a head

informal, rare a youth

informal, rare a person considered as the descendant of an established family, social class, etc

NZ another name for stud 1 (def. 7)

verb sprigs, sprigging or sprigged (tr)

to fasten or secure with sprigs

to ornament (fabric, wallpaper, etc) with a design of sprigs

to make sprays from (twigs and branches)

Derived forms of sprig

sprigger, noun spriggy, adjective

Word Origin for sprig

C15: probably of Germanic origin; compare Low German sprick, Swedish sprygg

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

sprig

noun

verb (used with object), sprigged, sprig·ging.

Origin of sprig

Words nearby sprig

Example sentences from the Web for sprig

British Dictionary definitions for sprig

noun

verb sprigs, sprigging or sprigged (tr)

Derived forms of sprig

Word Origin for sprig

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

sprig

noun

verb (used with object), sprigged, sprig·ging.

Origin of sprig

Words nearby sprig

Words related to sprig

Example sentences from the Web for sprig

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for sprig

noun

verb sprigs, sprigging or sprigged (tr)

Derived forms of sprig

Word Origin for sprig

British Dictionary definitions for sprig