sprout, sprut, sprute

i. [Old Fr. spruta; Low Ger. spruten, sprotten; Dutch spruiten; Ger. sprie en; Icelandic spretta =to spurt or spout out water, to sprout (pa. t. spratt, pl. spruttu, pa. par. sprotinn); A. S. spreótan (pa. t. spreát, pa. par. sproten )=to sprout. Allied to sprit, sprat, spurt, sputter, splutter, and a doublet of spout (q. v.).] 1. To shoot, as the seed of a plant; to germinate; to begin to grow; to put out shoots. "They are no other than buds sprouting forth."- P . Hol land: Pliny , bk. xvii., ch. xxi. *2. To shoot into ramifications. "Vitriol is apt to sprout with moisture."- Bacon . 3. To grow, like the shoots of plants; as, A deer's horns sprout . *4. To proceed, to shoot. "The heartiest gratitude sprouts originally from the earthy principle of self-interest." Search: Light of Nature, vol. i., pt. ii., ch. xxiii. sprout, subst. [Dut. spruit; Icel. sproti; Ger. spro .] [SPROUT, v.] 1. The shoot or bud of a plant; a shoot from the seed, or from the stump, or from the root of a plant or tree, or from the end of a branch. "To this kid, taken out of the womb, were brought in the tender sprouts of shrubs; and, after it had tasted, it began to eat of such as are the usual food of goats."- Ray : On the Creation. IMG:content-0115.png:[blocks in formation] *1. The same as SPRUCE-LEATHER (q. v.). 2. The same as SPRUCE-BEER (q. v.). II. Bot .: The same as SPRUCE-FIR (q. v.).