Sparing
/ˈspɛərɪŋ/noun
Showing restraint by using or giving as little as possible; frugal or lenient.
Did you know?Sparing comes from the same ancient root as *spare* and *despair*’s opposite world of escape and survival, where the core idea was not magic but survival through being unburdened.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*spere-
“to prosper, succeed”
Old English
English
sparian
“to refrain from harming, save, or keep back”
Middle English
English
sparen
“to refrain from using, to be frugal, to show mercy”
Modern English
English
sparing
“showing restraint or using little”