(sprē)
noun- A carefree, lively outing.
- A drinking bout.
- A sudden indulgence in or outburst of an activity. See Synonyms at binge.
Word History: A spending spree seems a far cry from a cattle raid, yet etymologists have suggested that the word
spree comes from the Scots word
spreath, “cattle raid.” The word
spree is first recorded in a poem in Scots dialect in 1804 in the sense of “a lively outing.” This sense is closely connected with a sense recorded soon afterward (in 1811), “a drinking bout,” while the familiar sense “an overindulgence in an activity,” as in a
spending spree, is recorded in 1849. Scots and Irish dialects also have a sense “a fight,” which may help connect the word and the sense “lively outing” with the Scots word
spreath, meaning variously, “booty,” “cattle taken as spoils,” “a herd of cattle taken in a raid,” and “cattle raid.” The Scots word comes from Irish and Scottish Gaelic
spréidh, “cattle,” which in turn ultimately comes from Latin
praeda, “booty.” This last link reveals both the importance of the Latin language to Gaelic and a connection between cattle and plunder in earlier Irish and Scottish societies.
