Make Your Point: SPOOR

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pronounce SPOOR:

SPORE

connect this word to others:

I stumbled into the word spoor for the first time in a Squareword puzzle. Those are like the Wordle, but in two dimensions: you fill in a grid of words, all five letters long each. It's so fun.

(Another word I learned from that game is a____t, meaning "something's surrounding area: its scope, reach, domain, or sphere." Can you recall that one?)

As we'll see in a second, the word spoor has to do with tracking: with finding and following trails. See if you can recall some other terms that also connote tracking:

1. A v____ge of something is a little leftover piece or trace of it, like a footprint on a track.

2. Your ___rry is the thing you're after: perhaps literally the animal you're tracking down.

3. Someone s___cious is smart in a quick, practical way, like a hunting dog who can quickly sniff out a correct trail.

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

The word "spoor" traces back through Afrikaans to Dutch. It came into English around the year 1823.

A spoor is the track or trail that an animal makes as it travels. In other words, an animal's spoor is the string of smells and visual cues that help a hunter find it.

Figuratively, a spoor can be the track or trail that a person or a thing leaves behind as it moves or develops.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Noun: "They discovered a spoor;" "They followed the deer's spoor;" "They kept an eye out for spoor."

Other forms:

It's rare, but "spoor" can also be a verb. It can be the transitive kind ("They spoored the deer into a dense copse of trees") and the intransitive kind ("They know how to spoor").

how to use it:

Compared to more familiar synonyms, like "track," "trail," and "traces," the word "spoor" is rarer and more formal.

Pick it when you want to imply that you're a skilled hunter chasing down an animal; say that you're following its spoor. This is a more serious and visceral image than saying that you're "following the breadcrumbs" of something, which implies that you're like Hansel and Gretel in a fairy-tale forest.

examples:

"He knew the birds by their songs, and how a mountain lion's spoor looked different from that of a deer."
— Linda Sue Park, A Single Shard, 2001

"Telescopes in space are the means for checking shards and fragments of data that may be the spoor, the trail, of the legendary black hole."
— Carl Sagan, Cosmos, 1980

has this page helped you understand "spoor"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "spoor" without saying "trail to follow" or "tracks to follow."

try it out:

In Travels With Charley in Search of America, John Steinbeck wrote:

"An animal resting or passing by leaves crushed grass, footprints, and perhaps droppings, but a human occupying a room for one night prints his character, his biography, his recent history, and sometimes his future plans and hopes. I further believe that personality seeps into walls and is slowly released. This might well be an explanation of ghosts and such manifestations.... I seem to be sensitive to the spoor of the human."

Talk about what he means. Are you, too, "sensitive to the spoor of the human," and if so, what does that mean? Do you find the whole idea plausible or implausible, and if so, why?

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game this month is "It Sounds Wiser in Latin."

Longtime readers will recognize this game. It's back, with fresh new (okay, mostly ancient) Latin idioms!

Try matching a handful of Latin phrases to their English translations. If you need some clues, I'll provide them in the form of definitions of related English words. For example, the clue "Something anguine reminds you of a snake" could help you determine that "Latet anguis in herba" means "A snake hides in the grass."

You can see the answers by scrolling to the bottom of the issue.

Try these today:

1. A solis ortu usque ad occasum.
2. Ab actu ad posse valet illatio.
3. Abbati, medico, patronoque intima pande.
4. Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur.
5. Stultitiam dissimulare non potes nisi taciturnitate.

A. From what has happened, we may infer what may happen.
B. From where the sun rises to where it sets.
C. Hide nothing from your minister, physician, or lawyer.
D. The world desires to be deceived and therefore is.
E. There is no concealing folly save by silence.

To peek at the clues, follow the links:

1. The roi soleil of something is...
2. Something mundane is literally...
3. Taciturn people are...

review this word:

1. Without a SPOOR to follow, it'll be hard to

A. navigate a new city.
B. track down your prey.
C. assemble new equipment.

2. Using the word "spoor" figuratively, Adam Hart-Davis describes _____.

A. finding "the spoor of the Roman occupation" in London roads, villas, forts, and stadia
B. cataloging "the spoor of Henry Winstanley," a man of "considerable achievements" and a "tragic end"
C. "the spoor of Richardson's 'Improved' Swimming Device (1880)," namely that "the spinning of the propeller in one direction would tend to make the body spin in the other direction, which would be most disconcerting"

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.

I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.

From my blog:
On vocabulary...
  36 ways to study words.
  Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
  How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.

From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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