to refrain from harming or hurting someone; to give or lend something extra; to save or not use.
From Old English 'sparian,' possibly derived from Proto-Germanic roots meaning 'to avoid' or 'to refrain.' The meaning evolved to cover physical sparing (not harming) and resource sparing (not using up).
The word 'spare' connects two very different ideas—'spare my life' and 'spare time'—but they both mean the same thing at heart: holding something back from use or harm, not giving it away completely.
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