noun · verb · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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rhymes with -ævɪn
1
noun
Meaning 1
A bony swelling which develops in a horse's leg where the shank and splint bone meet, caused by inflammation of the cartilage connecting those bones; also, a similar swelling caused by inflammation of the hock bones.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
verb
Meaning 6
To impair or injure (someone or something).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: figuratively, rare, transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
7
noun
Meaning 7
a swelling of the hock joint of a horse; resulting in lameness
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: animal disease
Narrower terms: blood spavin, bog spavin, bone spavin
History
Etymology
The noun is derived from Middle English spavein, spaveine (“swelling on horse’s leg causing lameness; disease causing lameness in horses”), from Old French espavain, a variant of esparvain, esprevain, esprevin (modern French éparvin, épervin). The further etymology is unknown; one suggestion is that it is from Frankish *sparwan (“sparrow”), though this is seen as quite tenuous. The verb is derived from the noun.
Origin unknown.
Across languages
Translations
24 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
جرذ
— bony swelling in a horse’s leg; disease of horses caused by this bony swelling; similar disease causing a person’s leg to be lame
Dutch:
spat
— bony swelling in a horse’s leg; disease of horses caused by this bony swelling; similar disease causing a person’s leg to be lame
Finnish:
kinnerpatti
— bony swelling in a horse’s leg; disease of horses caused by this bony swelling; similar disease causing a person’s leg to be lame
French:
éparvin
— bony swelling in a horse’s leg; disease of horses caused by this bony swelling; similar disease causing a person’s leg to be lame
French:
épervin
— bony swelling in a horse’s leg; disease of horses caused by this bony swelling; similar disease causing a person’s leg to be lame
Galician:
esparaván
— bony swelling in a horse’s leg; disease of horses caused by this bony swelling; similar disease causing a person’s leg to be lame
Georgian:
შპატი
(šṗaṭi)
— bony swelling in a horse’s leg; disease of horses caused by this bony swelling; similar disease causing a person’s leg to be lame
German:
Spat
— bony swelling in a horse’s leg; disease of horses caused by this bony swelling; similar disease causing a person’s leg to be lame
Hindi:
हड्डा
(haḍḍā)
— bony swelling in a horse’s leg; disease of horses caused by this bony swelling; similar disease causing a person’s leg to be lame
Italian:
sparaguagno
— bony swelling in a horse’s leg; disease of horses caused by this bony swelling; similar disease causing a person’s leg to be lame
Italian:
giarda
— bony swelling in a horse’s leg; disease of horses caused by this bony swelling; similar disease causing a person’s leg to be lame
Italian:
giardo
— bony swelling in a horse’s leg; disease of horses caused by this bony swelling; similar disease causing a person’s leg to be lame
Italian:
giardone
— bony swelling in a horse’s leg; disease of horses caused by this bony swelling; similar disease causing a person’s leg to be lame
Latin:
zarda
— bony swelling in a horse’s leg; disease of horses caused by this bony swelling; similar disease causing a person’s leg to be lame
Polish:
szpat
— bony swelling in a horse’s leg; disease of horses caused by this bony swelling; similar disease causing a person’s leg to be lame
Portuguese:
esparavão
— bony swelling in a horse’s leg; disease of horses caused by this bony swelling; similar disease causing a person’s leg to be lame
Romanian:
eparven
— bony swelling in a horse’s leg; disease of horses caused by this bony swelling; similar disease causing a person’s leg to be lame
Spanish:
esparaván
— bony swelling in a horse’s leg; disease of horses caused by this bony swelling; similar disease causing a person’s leg to be lame
Swedish:
spatt
— bony swelling in a horse’s leg; disease of horses caused by this bony swelling; similar disease causing a person’s leg to be lame
Turkish:
karakuş
— bony swelling in a horse’s leg; disease of horses caused by this bony swelling; similar disease causing a person’s leg to be lame
Ottoman Turkish:
قره قوش
(kara kuş)
— bony swelling in a horse’s leg; disease of horses caused by this bony swelling; similar disease causing a person’s leg to be lame
Urdu:
ہڈا
(haḍḍā)
— bony swelling in a horse’s leg; disease of horses caused by this bony swelling; similar disease causing a person’s leg to be lame
Finnish:
maakerros hiilisuonen alla
— stratum of earth underneath a coal deposit
Finnish:
aiheuttaa kinnerpatti
— to cause (a horse or its leg) to have spavin
