span, verb

/spæn/
Forms:
Also spaan.
Origin:
DutchShow more From Dutch spannen to fix or fasten, to draw tight, to join.
Note:
Also borrowed directly into general English (c1550) from Flemish, Dutch, or Low German (meaning ‘to harness or yoke’), being reinforced by South African English.
1.
a. intransitive. obsolete Of draught-oxen: to feed after having been unyoked.
1815 J. Campbell Trav. in S. Afr. 64To take the oxen from the waggon in order to feed, is, to outspan..: oxen feeding on a journey are said to be spaning: the place where they feed is called a spaning-place.
b. transitive. inspan sense 1 b.
1838 T. Shone Diary. 24 Sept.We span’d the Oxen and plowed part of Lamas.
1838 D. Moodie (tr. of J. van Riebeeck’s Jrnl) in Record I. 33Meanwhile we prepared the apparatus for spanning oxen before the wagon.
1858 Simmonds Dict. of TradeSpan,..to attach draught cattle to a wagon.
1873 F. Boyle To Cape for Diamonds 299Spanned the leader to the pole, and put another alongside...Spanned them this fashion — that fashion — every fashion that harmonical progression would allow.
1913 C. Pettman Africanderisms 463Span, To,..To yoke or harness animals to a vehicle. ‘To inspan’ is now more commonly used.
1958 S. Cloete Mask 132They were lucky that it had not rained because they might have had to double-span the wagons to get them through the drifts.
1984 Fair Lady 14 Nov. 166He went to the bottom camp to fetch his donkeys, spanned them to Titus’s cart that had been washed and scrubbed, and then led them to the lawn.
2. in the phrase to span in:
a. transitive. inspan sense 1 b. Also figurative.
1815 G. Barker Journal. 28 Aug.About 5 o’ clock all were spanned in and an attempt made to proceed, but before we had gone 10 rods my waggon was overturned with me and my wife both in.
1825 J. Ayliff Journal. 45Excuse my not Enlarging as the waggon is spaand in.
1846 J.M. Bowker Speeches & Sel. (1864) 251Half the oxen that are here can scarcely trail their own carcases,..to span them in is quite out of the question.
1857 R. Gray Jrnl of Visitation to Diocese of Graham’s Town 65Ordering the horses..not to be spanned in for an hour.
1868 W.R. Thomson Poems, Essays & Sketches 185A South African wagon is the greatest institution ever set a-going in this country...I must go and span mine in, for I must be in town before morning.
1882 O.E.A. Schreiner Diamond Fields. 98January made two holes in a box, and she spanned the goat into it. For a short way the goat would pull very well.
1892 Grocott’s Penny Mail 12 Jan. 3The ‘baas’ wanted his wagon spanned in, but no oxen appeared.
1894 Westminster Gaz. (U.K.) 11 Sept. 8One day he spanned-in his mules..and leisurely trekked to the widow’s homestead.
b. intransitive. inspan sense 1 a.
1818 G. Barker Journal. 1 Sept.Spanned in again at sun set & arrived about midnight in the Colony.
1837 F. Owen Diary (1926) 21We spanned in earlier than usual and hoped to make a good days’ journey before any rain.
a1867 C.J. Andersson Notes of Trav. (1875) 18Span in and go back the way you came.
c1929 L.P. Bowler Afr. Nights 116I did span in, and continued my journey.
c. transitive. figurative. inspan sense 2.
1882 C. Du Val With Show through Sn Afr. I. 118‘Span in’ all the spare Kaffirs available to carry seats and for platform building.
3. in the phrase to span out:
a. intransitive. outspan verb sense 1 a.
1816 [see outspan v. sense 1 a].
1835 A.G. Bain in A. Steedman Wanderings II. 242We accompanied the waggons to the place where they intended spanning-out.
1876 T. Stubbs Reminiscences. I. 49She was Kilt and murdered. W[e] had to span out in the river.
1958 I. Vaughan Diary 8The waggons all span out at the outspan place. The drivers chase the oxen to the dam to drink water then let them eat on the comonage.
b. intransitive. outspan verb sense 2 a.
1816 G. Barker Journal. 2 Mar.Spanned out about mid-day, at Sunday’s river, for refreshment & worship.
1821 G. Barker Journal. 19 Feb.Spanned out at night, between Bushmans river and Sweet milk fountain.
1836 A.F. Gardiner Journey to Zoolu Country 151Last night the driver of the waggon..shot a panther close to my hut. They had spanned out in the road for the night.
1838 T. Shone Diary. 17 JulyLeft home with the waggon for Town, span’d out at Cooper’s place.
1850 J.D. Lewins Diary. 17 MayDale & Ezra Ridgard spanned out.
Of draught-oxen: to feed after having been unyoked.
inspan sense 1 b. Also figurative.
Derivatives:
Hence spanning-out  participial adjective.
1924 L. Cohen Reminisc. of Jhb. 18Patronising..a bed in a spanning-out farmhouse.
Entry Navigation

Visualise Quotations

Quotation summary

Senses

18151984

Derivatives

spanning-out

Browse Related Words

By Category

Animal Husbandry
Transport

By Origin

Dutch

By Usage

obsolete or obsolescent
figurative or allusive
span, nounn.2Spanish reed, noun phrasen. phr.
Copyright © 2025 Dictionary Unit for South African English