I. spawn 1 /spɔːn $ spɒːn/ BrE AmE verb
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Language: Anglo-French ; Origin: espaundre , from Old French espandre 'to spread out' , from Latin expandere ; ⇨ ↑ expand ]
1 . [transitive] to make a series of things happen or start to exist:
New technology has spawned new business opportunities.
2 . [intransitive and transitive] if a fish or ↑ frog spawns, it produces eggs in large quantities at the same time
II. spawn 2 BrE AmE noun [uncountable]
the eggs of a fish or ↑ frog laid together in a soft mass