To reject someone or something with contempt or disdain; to refuse proudly or angrily.
From Old Norse 'sporna,' meaning 'to kick' or 'to thrust away.' The word carries the physical sense of rejection in modern English even though we rarely kick things away anymore.
The Old Norse origin preserved in 'spurn' gives it a visceral quality that softer words like 'reject' lack—it literally comes from the physical act of kicking something away, which explains why it feels so emotionally sharp.
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