Learn Greek › B2 › σπώ
σπώ
to break /ˈspo/
verbB2#2123 most common
Also: to snap, to burst, to crack (something)
Example sentences
Σπάω ένα ποτήρι.
I'm breaking a glass.
Μην πηδάς από εκεί, θα σπάσεις το πόδι σου!
Don't jump from there, you'll break your leg!
Χθες έσπασα κατά λάθος το κινητό μου τηλέφωνο.
Yesterday I accidentally broke my mobile phone.
Ο πάγος έσπασε κάτω από το βάρος του.
The ice broke under his weight.
Τα κύματα έσπαγαν δυνατά πάνω στους βράχους όλη τη νύχτα.
The waves broke hard against the rocks all night.
Ο κωμικός έσπασε πλάκα με το κοινό σε όλη την παράσταση.
The comedian joked around with the audience throughout the show.
Conjugation
| Present Active | Simple Past Active | Simple Future Active | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | σπάω / σπώ | έσπασα | θα σπάσω |
| 2sg | σπάς | έσπασες | θα σπάσεις |
| 3sg | σπάει | έσπασε | θα σπάσει |
| 1pl | σπάμε | σπάσαμε | θα σπάσουμε |
| 2pl | σπάτε | σπάσατε | θα σπάσετε |
| 3pl | σπάνε | έσπασαν | θα σπάσουν |
Word family
σπάσιμοa break, breakage
σπασμένοςbroken
αποσπώto extract, detach, wrest away
διασπώto split apart, disperse
σπασμόςspasm
Etymology
Σπώ is the modern contracted form of ancient Greek σπάω, which meant to draw, pull, or tear. The old sense of pulling something until it gives way settled into the modern meaning of breaking. Scholars are not certain of a deeper Indo-European source for this root, and some treat it as a pre-Greek word rather than inherited vocabulary.
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