spier

See also: Spier

English

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English spier, spyer, spiar, equivalent to spy +‎ -er. Compare Dutch verspieder and bespieder (“spier”), German Späher (“spier”). Compare also Danish spejde (“spy”), Swedish speja (“spy”).

Noun

spier (plural spiers)

1. (rare) One who spies; a spy.

Anagrams

• 'spire, Peris, Piers, Pires, Speir, peris, piers, pries, prise, resip, ripes, spire

Afrikaans

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

spier (plural spiere)

1. muscle

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /spir/, [spiːr]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: spier
• Rhymes: -ir
• Homophone: Spier

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch spier (“pointed object; blade of grass; long pole; muscle”), from Old Dutch *spīr, from Proto-Germanic *spīraz, *spīrǭ. In Middle Dutch, the word took the meaning "muscle", likely due to the similarities in shape between its earlier meanings and muscle fibers.

Noun

spier f (plural spieren, diminutive spiertje n)

1. muscle (contractile tissue)
2. (archaic) blade (of a plant)

   Synonyms: spriet, halm

3. (archaic) blade of grass

   Synonyms: grasspriet, grashalm

4. spar (pole)

   Synonym: rondhout

Derived terms

• armspier
• beenspier
• bilspier
• buikspier
• gespierd
• hartspier
• kringspier
• oogspier
• sluitspier
• spierversterken
• spierwit

Descendants

• Afrikaans: spier
• → Indonesian: sepir
• → Papiamentu: spir, spier

Noun

spier n (uncountable, no diminutive)

1. (dated) the collective of muscles
2. (obsolete) poultry, white meat, the whitish meat of fowl [16th–18th c.]

Etymology 2

Verb

spier

1. inflection of spieren:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
   3. imperative

Further reading

• “spier” in Woordenlijst Nederlandse Taal – Officiële Spelling, Nederlandse Taalunie. [the official spelling word list for the Dutch language]

Anagrams

• prise

Luxembourgish

Verb

spier

1. singular imperative of spieren

West Frisian

Etymology

Compare Dutch spier.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈspiər/

Noun

spier c (plural spieren or spierren, diminutive spierke)

1. muscle

Derived terms

• spiersterk

Further reading

• “spier”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011