spur
spur / spər/ •
n. 1. a device with a small spike or a spiked wheel that is worn on a rider's heel and used for urging a horse forward. ∎ fig. a thing that prompts or encourages someone; an incentive: profit was both the spur and the reward of enterprise. ∎ a hard spike on the back of the leg of a cock or male game bird, used in fighting. ∎ a steel point fastened to the leg of a gamecock. ∎ a climbing iron.2. a thing that projects or branches off from a main body, in particular: ∎ a projection from a mountain or mountain range. ∎ a short branch road or rail line. ∎ Bot. a slender tubular projection from the base of a flower, e.g., a honeysuckle or orchid, typically containing nectar. ∎ a short fruit-bearing side shoot.•
v. (spurred, spur·ring) [tr.] urge (a horse) forward by digging one's spurs into its sides: she spurred her horse toward the hedge. ∎ give an incentive or encouragement to (someone): her sons' passion for computer games spurred her on to set up a software store. ∎ cause or promote the development of; stimulate: governments cut interest rates to spur demand.PHRASES: on the spur of the moment on a momentary impulse; without premeditation.DERIVATIVES: spur·less adj.spurred adj.
spur
spur
1. Short horizontal timber, one end fixed to a cruck blade about a third of the height of the blade, and the other fixed to a cruck-stud, to carry the wall-plate.
2. Short diagonal strut.
3. Strengthening pier or sloping buttress.
4. Ornamental timber bracket by the sides of doors to support a projecting upper floor (e.g. C14 examples in York).
5. Salient outwork of a fortress.
6. Prowshaped bridge-pier, or cut-water.
7. Carved claw, leaf, or griffe on the corners of a square plinth under a medieval pier.
8. Spere.
spur
spur
1. A short side branch that bears flowers and fruits
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2. In conifers, a shoot that bears leaves
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3. A tubular projection from a flower.