sprung
See also: Sprung and šprung
English
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈspɹʌŋ/
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈspɹʌŋ/
Audio (AU) (file) - Rhymes: -ʌŋ
Verb
sprung
- simple past tense and past participle of spring
Adjective
sprung (comparative more sprung, superlative most sprung)
- (slang, African-American Vernacular) Utterly infatuated with someone; completely taken over by romantic interest.
- 1992, Sir Mix-a-Lot (music), “Baby Got Back”, in Mack Daddy:
- I like big butts and I cannot lie. / You other brothers can’t deny / that when a girl walks in / with a itty bitty waist / and a round thing in your face you get sprung.
- 2003, Beyoncé et al. (music), “Crazy In Love”, in Dangerously in Love:
- […] / ’Cause your love got the best of me, / And baby, you’re making a fool of me. / You got me sprung and I don’t care who sees, / ’Cause baby, you got me so crazy.
- 2005, Mariah Carey et al. (music), “Sprung”, in The Emancipation of Mimi, bonus track in some editions:
- ’Cause I’m sprung over you / And ain’t nothin’ I can do / […] / Thoughts of you fill my head / […]
#*
2009, Flo Rida et al. (music), “Sugar”, in R.O.O.T.S.:
- My lips like sugar. / This candy got you sprung.
- (Australia, slang) Caught doing something illegal or against the rules.
- 1979, Gabrielle Carey and Kathy Lette, Puberty Blues, page 46:
- `Sprung!' cried Jeff Basin, the local dubbo.
-
- (obsolete, nautical, of a spar) cracked or strained.
- (slang, dated) drunk.
- Fitted or cushioned with springs.
- a sprung mattress
- the sprung weight of a vehicle
Usage notes
- The adjective sprung, unlike (say) infatuated, does not normally take a complement; a person may be infatuated with someone, but is simply sprung. As with crazy or gaga, the target of the emotion is normally indicated by surrounding context; this is seen in the 1992 and 2003 quotations above. However, while relatively uncommon, it is possible for sprung to take a complement, construed with a preposition such as over (much like gaga); this is seen in the 2005 quotation above.
Synonyms
- (infatuated): smitten, taken; see also Thesaurus:in love
- (caught doing something illegal): caught with a hand in the cookie jar, red-handed
- (cracked or strained): crazed, splintered; see also Thesaurus:broken
- (drunk): See Thesaurus:drunk
Antonyms
- unsprung
Derived terms
- coil-sprung
- leaf-sprung
Translations
Utterly infatuated with someone
|
Caught doing something against the rules
|
References
- (drunk): 1873, John Camden Hotten, The Slang Dictionary
Middle English
Noun
sprung
- (Early Middle English, West Midlands) Alternative form of spryng
Old High German
Etymology
Inherited from Proto-West Germanic *sprungi, from Proto-Germanic *sprungiz, related to *springaną. Compare Dutch sprong.
Noun
sprung m
- jump
Declension
Declension of sprung (masculine a-stem)
case | singular | plural |
---|---|---|
nominative | sprung | sprunga |
accusative | sprung | sprunga |
genitive | sprunges | sprungo |
dative | sprunge | sprungum |
instrumental | sprungu | — |
Descendants
- Middle High German: sprung
- German: Sprung
References
- Köbler, Gerhard, Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, (6. Auflage) 2014