See Also: span(medicine)
span-new(dictionary)
C-SPAN(dictionary)
span(4)(dictionary)
span 1,(dictionary)
span(2)(dictionary)
Span(money)
span(1)(dictionary)
span(3)(dictionary)
Span(finance)

span(3) (iou)



span verb1 trans. [span] Infl. -nn-. OE.
[Partly formed as SPAN verb2, partly from SPAN noun1.]
I. verb trans.
Orig., join, fasten, clasp. Later, grasp, seize. Long obsolete exc. Scot. OE.
Measure or cover (as) with the span of the hand; encircle (as) with the hand or hands. Formerly also, take measure of or encompass with the mind. OE.
Keats She spann'd The quick invisible strings [of the lute]. Browning How your plump arms..have dropped away! Why, I can span them!
Reach or extend over (a distance, period of time, etc.); arch across from side to side; encompass or range over in subject etc. E17.
M. Meyer His..career..spanned fifty years. G. Swift The footbridge..spanned..the river. Antique Collector The exhibits span the Zapotec to the Aztec cultures.
Construct a bridge across. M19.
S. Smiles Telford spanned..these straits with suspension road bridges. transf.: B. Jowett He is the mediator who spans the chasm which divides them.
Math. Generate. Cf. SPAN noun1 5. M20.
II. verb intrans.
Extend or reach over a distance, period of time, etc.; stretch or range from one place or thing to another. M16.
spanning ppl adjective (a) that spans or extends across something; (b) Math. (of a subgraph, esp. one that is a tree) that includes and connects every vertex of a graph: E19.