Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A device for snaring small game, made by attaching a noose to a branch under tension.
- noun A trap or snare.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To sprinkle.
- noun A noose or snare for catching small game; a gin.
- To catch in a springe.
- To set springes; catch game by means of springes.
- Active; nimble; brisk; agile.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb rare To catch in a springe; to insnare.
- transitive verb obsolete To sprinkle; to scatter.
- noun A noose fastened to an elastic body, and drawn close with a sudden spring, whereby it catches a bird or other animal; a gin; a snare.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb obsolete To
sprinkle ; toscatter . - noun obsolete
snare
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Another mode of making a springe, which is a capital plan for catching almost any bird, whether it be a percher or a runner, is this: Procure an elastic wand (hazel or osier makes the best) of about 3 ft. 6 in. long, to the top of which tie a piece of twisted horsehair about 3 in. in length; to the free end attach a little piece of wood of 2 in. in length, by the middle, cutting one end to an obtuse point, flattened on the top and underneath.
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Her phrasing here nicely looks back to 1. 51, where she acknowledged that her own "springe" had been "late."
My Name Was Martha: A Renaissance Woman's Autobiographical Poem 1993
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“Never tell me of your points of honour,” said Touchwood, raising his voice altogether above the general tone of polite conversation — “all humbug, Captain MacTurk — mere hair-traps to springe woodcocks — men of sense break through them.”
Saint Ronan's Well 2008
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Be caught like a bird in a springe; everything intended to be hidden from me!
A Pair of Blue Eyes 2006
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The leading goat marched gravely into the springe, which, catching him round his neck, released the bent rod, and sprang him off his legs into the air.
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The loss of the springe was not a serious one, for three traps remained unsprung, and before sundown
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Horatio may be taking his cue from what the dying Laertes has just said: Laertes is 'as a woodcock to mine own springe'.
Shakespeare Bevington, David 2002
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Shall ffeele A springe, Wth budd of life, & Breath
My Name Was Martha: A Renaissance Woman's Autobiographical Poem 1993
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My springe was late, some thinke thatt sooner loue butt backward springs doe oft the kindest proue +
My Name Was Martha: A Renaissance Woman's Autobiographical Poem 1993
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Shall ffeele A springe, wth budd of life, & Breath
My Name Was Martha: A Renaissance Woman's Autobiographical Poem 1993
oroboros commented on the word springe
Noose, trap, snare for small game animals.
August 28, 2009
yarb commented on the word springe
E.g. woodcocks.
August 28, 2009