spa

Clipping of English Spanish or Spanish español.

spa

1. (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-3 language code for Spanish.

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Spanish terms

The term is derived from the name of the Belgian town of Spa, where since medieval times illnesses caused by iron deficiency were treated by drinking chalybeate (iron-bearing) spring water. In 16^th century England the old Roman ideas of medicinal bathing were revived at towns like Bath, and in 1571 William Slingsby who had been to the Belgian town (which he called Spaw) discovered a chalybeate spring in Yorkshire. He built an enclosed well at what became known as Harrogate, the first resort in England for drinking medicinal waters, then in 1596 Dr. Timothy Bright called the resort The English Spaw, beginning the use of the word Spa as a generic description rather than as the place name of the Belgian town. At first this term referred specifically to resorts for water drinking rather than bathing, but this distinction was gradually lost and many spas offer external remedies.

There are various stories about the origin of the name. A Belgian spring of iron-bearing water was called Espa from the Walloon term for "fountain", and was used in 1326 as a cure by an iron master with such success that he founded a health resort that developed into the town, though it has been suggested that this term may be derived from the name of the resort. Some have suggested that the town's name can be ultimately sourced from Latin spargere (“to scatter, sprinkle, or moisten”), though this derivation is problematic.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈspɑː/
  • (UK, obsolete) IPA^(key): /ˈspɔː/^[1]
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈspɑ/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈspɐː/

  • Audio (General Australian):

    (file)

• (Scotland) IPA^(key): /ˈspa/
• Rhymes: -ɑː
• Homophone: spar (non-rhotic)

spa (plural spas)

1. A health resort near a mineral spring or hot spring.
2. A trendy or fashionable resort.
3. A health club.

   They went to a spa for a massage.

4. A hot tub.

   Their bath is fitted with a spa.

5. (Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine) A convenience store.

• health club
• resort

Shortened form of spastic

• IPA^(key): /spɑː/
• Rhymes: -ɑː

spa (plural spas)

1. (Ireland, slang) An idiot; a gobshite
   • 2010, Paul Murray, Skippy Dies, →ISBN:

     What the fuck was she talking about, he must think she's such a spa.

   • 2018, Rachael English, The Night of the Party‎^[2]:

     ['...] We'll say it was just the two of us sitting in the shed having a chat.'
     'Don't be such a spa. Nobody will believe we were sitting in the shed having a chat.[...']

2. (Ireland, slang) A clumsy person (see spastic)
   • 1993, Roddy Doyle, Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, →ISBN, page 17:

     — Hit it.
     He missed.
     — You're a big spa, I told him.

• APS, SAP, sap, APs, Psa., PsA, s.ap., asp, pas, Pas, PSA, ASP, PAs, PAS

• IPA^(key): /spaː/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aː

From earlier spade, from Middle Dutch spade, from Old Dutch *spado, from Proto-Germanic *spadô.

• spade

spa m (plural spaden, diminutive spaatje n)

1. spade

From the Spa brand of mineral water, which originates from the Belgian town of Spa. The compound spawater is attested as early as the 17th century, however.

spa m (plural spa's, diminutive spaatje n)

1. mineral water

From earlier spade, from Middle Dutch spade, from Old Dutch *spādi, from Proto-Germanic *spēdiz. Cognate with German spät.

• spade

spa (comparative spader, superlative spaadst)

1. (obsolete) late

   Synonym: laat

Declension of spa
uninflected	spa
inflected	spade
comparative	spader
		positive	comparative	superlative
predicative/adverbial		spa	spader	het spaadst het spaadste
indefinite	m./f. sing.	spade	spadere	spaadste
	n. sing.	spa	spader	spaadste
	plural	spade	spadere	spaadste
definite		spade	spadere	spaadste
partitive		spaads	spaders	—

• spada
• spade

From the noun spade.

• IPA^(key): /spɑː/

spa (present tense spar, past tense spadde, past participle spadd or spadt, present participle spadande, imperative spa)

1. to use a spade or shovel, to dig, to shovel

• “spa” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

• IPA^(key): /spa/

spa f (plural spe)

1. sword

• SPA, SpA

Unadapted borrowing from English spa.

• IPA^(key): /ˈspa/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -a
• Syllabification: spa
• Homophone: Spa

spa n (indeclinable)

1. spa (beauty treatments designed to moisturise and nourish the skin; also: cosmetics used for such treatments)
2. spa (health resort near a mineral spring or hot spring)

   Hypernyms: bad, kurort, uzdrowisko, zdrojowisko

3. spa (hot tub)

   Synonym: jacuzzi

   Hypernym: wanna

spa (not comparable, no derived adverb)

1. (postpositive) spa (beauty treatments designed to moisturise and nourish the skin; also: cosmetics used for such treatments)
2. (postpositive) spa (hot tub)

   Synonym: jacuzzi

• “spa I”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[3] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “spa II”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[4] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “spa”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[5] (in Polish)

Unadapted borrowing from English spa.

• Hyphenation: spa

spa m (plural spas)

1. spa (health resort near a spring)

• “spa”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “spa”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Unadapted borrowing from English spa.

• IPA^(key): /esˈpa/ [esˈpa]
• Rhymes: -a

spa m (plural spas)

1. spa

   Synonym: balneario

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

• “spa”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

From the name of the Belgian town of Spa. First attested in 1993.

spa n

1. spa (health resort with (hot) baths, and various treatments)

• “spa”, in Svenska Akademiens ordböcker [Dictionaries of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)