spoor

Etymology

From Afrikaans, from Dutch spoor, akin to Old English and Old Norse spor (whence Danish spor), and German Spur, all from Proto-Germanic *spurą. Compare spurn.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /spʊə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /spʊɹ/, /spɔɹ/
• Homophones: spore (in some accents)

Noun

spoor (usually uncountable, plural spoors)

1. The track, trail, droppings or scent of an animal
   • 1971, William S. Burroughs, The Wild Boys: A Book of the Dead, page 10

     Now he has picked up the spoor of drunken vomit and there is the doll sprawled against a wall, his pants streaked with urine.

   • 1918, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Land That Time Forgot Chapter VIII

     Even poor Nobs appeared dejected as we quit the compound and set out upon the well-marked spoor of the abductor.

Verb

spoor (third-person singular simple present spoors, present participle spooring, simple past and past participle spoored)

1. (transitive) To track an animal by following its spoor

Anagrams

• proso, roops, sopor, sporo-

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /spoːr/

• Audio

  (file)

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch spor, from Old Dutch *spor, from Proto-Germanic *spurą, from Proto-Indo-European *sperH-.

Etymology 2

From Middle Dutch spore, from Old Dutch *sporo from Proto-Germanic *spurô, from Proto-Indo-European *sperH-.