spill

Definition

To drop something so that it spreads out or makes a mess; to accidentally pour.

Etymology

From Middle English spillen, from Old English spillan, spildan (“to kill, destroy, waste”), from Proto-West Germanic *spilþijan, from Proto-Germanic *spilþijaną (“to spoil, kill, murder”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pel- (“to sunder, split, rend, tear”). Cognate with Dutch spillen (“to use needlessly, waste”), French gaspiller ("to waste, squander" < Germanic), Bavarian spillen (“to split, cleave, splinter”), Danish spilde (“to spill, waste”), Swedish spilla (“to spill, waste”), Icelandic spilla (“to contaminate, spoil”). See also spool.

Example Sentences

• "I spilled some sticky juice on the kitchen floor."
• "Some sticky juice spilled onto the kitchen floor."
• "He was so topful of himself, that he let it spill on all the company."