Spaß (German)
Where does "Spaß" come from?
The German noun 'Spaß', meaning 'fun' or 'joke', entered the language earlier as 'Spasso'[1]. This was borrowed from Italian 'spasso'[1], a deverbal form originating from 'spassare' or 'spassarsela', meaning to have fun or amuse[2]. These Italian terms trace back to Vulgar Latin '*expassāre'[1][3], which was formed from the Latin root 'expandō', meaning to stretch out[1][3], itself deriving from 'ex-', meaning out, combined with 'pandō', meaning to spread[4].
Open questions
- The Vulgar Latin form '*expassāre' is a reconstructed intermediate stage. [1] [3]
Full etymology tree
- Spaß (German), 'fun'
- derived Spasso (German)
- borrowed spasso (Italian), 'fun'
- deverbal spassare (Italian), 'to entertain, amuse'
- derived *expassāre (Vulgar Latin)
- derived expando (Latin), 'to spread something out'
- compound ex- (Latin), 'out, away'
- compound pando (Latin), 'to spread or open (out), extend'
- derived expando (Latin), 'to spread something out'
- derived *expassāre (Vulgar Latin)
- deverbal spassare (Italian), 'to entertain, amuse'
- borrowed spasso (Italian), 'fun'
- derived Spasso (German)
Ancestors
- spasso (Italian)
Cognates and doublets
- Spoas (Saterland Frisian)
Descendants and derived words
- Spaßbremse (German)
- Späßchen (German)
- spaßen (German)
- spaßig (German)
- Spaß machen (German)
- Spaßmacher (German)
- Spaßvogel (German)
- szpôs (Kashubian)
- śpas (Polish)
- szpas (Silesian)
Sources
- Spaß (German) - Wiktionary
- spasso (Italian) - Wiktionary
- spassare (Italian) - Wiktionary
- expando (Latin) - Wiktionary
Updated September 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris