Sprùn

Of the same 'etymo' are our Mantfàn dialectal noun 'sprùn', Valtellinese sperùn (spur) and the verb 'sprunà' (to incite). These words derive (as the Italian sperone -sprone in Dante- and the French éperon) from the Old High German, Langobard and Frank sporo (spur), akin to Anglo-Saxon spura, Icelandic spori, Danish spore, Proto-Germanic spuron. Giacomo Devoto (cfr. 'Avviamento all'Etimologia Italiana) have seen that 'sporo' became the medieval Latin 'sporonus' in a 'glossa' of the 8th Century. Langobards were very able horsemen (having learnt some'techniques'by Avar Huns), that's why they have left many words related to horses or horseriding. 'A sprùn batü' in Mantuan means 'to go very fast'(identical as in Shakespeare's 'Now spurs the lated traveler.'. Image: lombard horseman Bern (CH)historische Museum