name
Meaning 1
An English surname originating as an occupation.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: Spenser
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
Spencer
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
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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Received-Pronunciation: /ˈspɛnsə/
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General-American: /ˈspɛnsɚ/
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rhymes with -ɛnsə(ɹ)
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Canada: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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UK: /ˈspɛnsə/
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Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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CMU ARPABET: S P EH1 N S ER0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
name
Meaning 2
A unisex given name.
A male given name transferred from the surname, of general 19th century and later usage.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
name
Meaning 3
A unisex given name.
A female given name transferred from the surname, of modern usage.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
name
Meaning 4
A placename:
A suburb of Central Coast, New South Wales, Australia; probably named for British politician George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
name
Meaning 5
A placename:
A number of places in the United States:
A hamlet in Clark County, Idaho.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
name
Meaning 6
A placename:
A number of places in the United States:
A town, the county seat of Owen County, Indiana; named for Indiana militia officer Spier Spencer.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
name
Meaning 7
A placename:
A number of places in the United States:
A city, the county seat of Clay County, Iowa.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
name
Meaning 8
A placename:
A number of places in the United States:
A town in Worcester County, Massachusetts; named for Massachusetts governor Spencer Phips.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
name
Meaning 9
A placename:
A number of places in the United States:
An unincorporated community in Missouri; named for a local merchant.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
name
Meaning 10
A placename:
A number of places in the United States:
A village in Nebraska; perhaps named for Alabama statesman George E. Spencer.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
name
Meaning 11
A placename:
A number of places in the United States:
A town and village in New York; named for New York statesman Ambrose Spencer.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
name
Meaning 12
A placename:
A number of places in the United States:
A town in North Carolina; named for railroad executive Samuel Spencer.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
name
Meaning 13
A placename:
A number of places in the United States:
A village in Ohio.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
name
Meaning 14
A placename:
A number of places in the United States:
A city in Oklahoma.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
name
Meaning 15
A placename:
A number of places in the United States:
A city in South Dakota; named for railroad official H. Spencer.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
name
Meaning 16
A placename:
A number of places in the United States:
A town, the county seat of Van Buren County, Tennessee; named for longhunter Thomas Sharp Spencer.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
name
Meaning 17
A placename:
A number of places in the United States:
An unincorporated community in Virginia; named for first settler James Spencer Jr.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
name
Meaning 18
A placename:
A number of places in the United States:
A city, the county seat of Roane County, West Virginia.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
name
Meaning 19
A placename:
A number of places in the United States:
A town and village in Wisconsin; named for the town in Massachusetts.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
name
Meaning 20
A placename:
A number of places in the United States:
A number of townships in the United States, listed under Spencer Township.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
name
Meaning 21
A placename:
Ellipsis of Spencer County.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
name
Meaning 22
An English earldom.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 23
A short double-breasted men's overcoat worn in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: historical
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 24
A short, close-fitting jacket primarily worn by women and children in the early 19th century.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: historical
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 25
A (usually woollen) vest worn by women and girls for extra warmth.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: historical
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 26
A large loose-fitted gaffsail on a square-rigger or barque, used from the nineteenth century onwards.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 27
English philosopher and sociologist who applied the theory of natural selection to human societies (1820-1903)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: Herbert Spencer
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: philosopher, sociologist
History
Etymology
An occupational surname from Middle English Spenser, Spencer, Spensier, from the common noun spenser (“spencer”), denoting someone who works in a spense (“spence”), or as a butler or steward.
From the family name Spencer. The jacket is probably named after George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer (1758-1834).
Across languages
Translations
3 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- German: Speiser — surnames derived from the equivalent of “spencer”
- Greek: Οικονόμος (Oikonómos) — surnames derived from the equivalent of “spencer”
- Polish: Spencer — surnames derived from the equivalent of “spencer”
Real reading context