Other forms: spanning, spans, spanned
A span is the stretch of time something covers. A span of four years, over that span, a short span.
Lifespan and attention span are the standard compounds. A span is also a distance across: the span of a bridge, wingspan, and originally the width of a spread hand, about nine inches, which was a real unit of measurement. As a verb, to span is to stretch across: a career spanning four decades, a bridge spanning the river. Note spanner, which is a different word entirely.
1nounspanThe stretch of time something covers.
“Young children have a short attention span and get bored quickly.”
2verbspaceTo stretch across a space or time.
“A wooden bridge spans the river just below the waterfall.”
span is a stretch across.
Old English spann was the distance between thumb and little finger of a spread hand, about nine inches. The bridge and the career are both named after a hand, which is where most old measures came from.
Middle English
spanne
English, today
span
From Middle English spanne. From Middle English spanne, from Old English spann, from Proto-Germanic spannō (“span, handbreadth”), from Proto-Indo-European (s)pend- (“to stretch”). Cognate with Dutch span, spanne, German Spanne. The sense “pair of horses” is probably from Old English ġespan, ġespann (“a joining; a fastening together; clasp; yoke”), from Proto-West Germanic. Cognate with Dutch gespan, German Gespann.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA