[span] archaic past of spin
[2]span n [ME, fr. OE spann; akin to OHG spanna span, MD spannen to stretch, hitch up] (bef. 12c) 1: the distance from the end of the thumb to the end of the little finger of a spread hand; also: an English unit of length equal to
9. inches (22.9 centimeters)
2: an extent, stretch, reach, or spread between two limits: as a: a limited space (as of time); esp: an individual's lifetime b: the spread or extent between abutments or supports (as of a bridge); also: a portion thus supported c: the maximum distance laterally from tip to tip of an airplane [3]span vt spanned ; span.ning (1560) 1 a: to measure by or as if by the hand with fingers and thumb extended b: measure
2. a: to extend across "a career that spanned four decades" b: to form an arch over "a small bridge spanned the pond" c: to place or construct a span over
3: to be capable of expressing any element of under given operations "a set of vectors that ~s a vector space" [4]span n [D, fr. MD, fr. spannen to hitch up] (1769): a pair of animals (as mules) usu. matched in appearance and action and driven together