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   Spawn

   /spôn/

   

   verb

   • 1. (of a fish, frog, mollusk, crustacean, etc.) release or deposit eggs: "the fish spawn among fine-leaved plants"
   • ▪ (of a fish, frog, etc.) be laid as eggs: "the fish can locate the precise stream in which they were spawned"
   • ▪ (of a character or object in a video game) appear at a certain point in the game: "then they enter the undead land where defenders will spawn to fight against them"
   • 2. (of a person) produce (offspring): derogatory "why had she married a man who could spawn a boy like that?"
   • ▪ produce or generate, especially in large numbers: "the decade spawned a bewildering variety of books on the forces"
   • ▪ generate (a dependent or subordinate computer process).

   noun

   • 1. the eggs of fish, frogs, etc.: "the fish covers its spawn with gravel"
   • ▪ the process of producing spawn: "lax regulations, especially during the spawn, are responsible for the declining populations"
   • 2. the product or offspring of a person or place (used to express distaste or disgust): derogatory "the spawn of chaos: demons and sorcerers"
   • 3. the mycelium of a fungus, especially a cultivated mushroom: "a supplier of spawn for shiitake mushrooms"

   Word Origin late Middle English: shortening of Anglo-Norman French espaundre ‘to shed roe’, variant of Old French espandre ‘pour out’, from Latin expandere ‘expand’.

   Derivatives

   • 1. spawner noun

   Scrabble Points: 10

   • S

     1

   • P

     3

   • A

     1

   • W

     4

   • N

     1

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