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| spawn [ spawn ] |
noun (plural spawns) |
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| Definition: |
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1. egg mass: a mass of eggs of a fish, amphibian, or other water animal
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2. offspring: progeny or offspring, especially if numerous
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3. fungal threads: a mass of microscopic fungal threads mycelium, especially when prepared on a growth medium for starting a new culture of the fungus
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4. seed: a seed, germ, or the source of something
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verb (past and past participle spawned, present participle spawn·ing, 3rd person present singular spawns) |
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| Definition: |
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1. intransitive verb deposit eggs: to produce and deposit eggs
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2. intransitive verb produce young: to produce offspring in large numbers
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3. transitive verb give rise to something: to generate or give rise to something
  The storm has spawned at least one tornado.
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4. transitive verb start new fungus culture: to start a new culture of a fungus using spawn
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| [15th century. < Anglo-Norman espaundre "shed roe," variant of Old French espandre "shed, spill, pour out" < Latin expandere (see expand)] |
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| spawn·er noun |
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