Spawn

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɔːn

Origin

Recorded since 1413; from Middle English spawne, spawnen, from Anglo-Norman espaundre, from Old French espandre, from Latin expandere ("stretch out", "spread out").

Full definition of spawn

Verb

1. (transitive) To produce or deposit (eggs) in water.
2. (transitive) To generate, bring into being, especially non-mammalian beings in very large numbers.
3. (transitive) To bring forth in general.
4. (transitive) To induce (aquatic organisms) to spawn
5. (transitive) To plant with fungal spawn
6. (intransitive) To deposit (numerous) eggs in water.
• 20 April 2014, Richard Conniff, Alewives are anadromous fish: Born in freshwater, they spend their lives in the ocean, returning annually to their birthplaces to spawn.
7. (intransitive) To reproduce, especially in large numbers.
8. (ergative, video games, of a character or object) (To cause) to appear spontaneously in a game at a certain point and time.

Derived terms

• despawn
• respawn
• spawnable
• spawn point
• spawner
• spawny

Noun

1. The numerous eggs of an aquatic organism.
2. Mushroom mycelium prepared for (aided) propagation.
3. (by extension, sometimes derogatory) Any germ or seed, even a figurative source; offspring.
• 2012, June 3, Nathan Rabin, TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Mr. Plow” (season 4, episode 9; originally aired 11/19/1992), Even the blithely unselfconscious Homer is more than a little freaked out by West’s private reverie, and encourages his spawn to move slowly away without making eye contact with the crazy man.
4. (horticulture) The buds or branches produced from underground stems.
5. (video games) The location in a game where characters or objects spontaneously appear.

Derived terms

• hellspawn

Anagrams

• pawns