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Added 9 October 2026

spry

/spɹaɪ/ adjective

adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about spry at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Having great power of leaping or running; nimble; active.
Vigorous; lively; cheerful; sprightly.

Origin

From British dialectal sprey, from Old Norse sprækr (“nimble, lively”) from Proto-Germanic *sprēkiz (“lively”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)preg- (“to strew, jerk, sprinkle, scatter”). Cognate with Icelandic sprækur (“lively, spry”), Norwegian sprek (“lively, healthy”), dialectal Swedish sprygg (“brisk, very active, skittish”). More at spark. Related to sprack, sprig, sprug, freckle.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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