spurn

Etymology

From Middle English spurnen, spornen, from Old English spurnan (“to strike against, kick, spurn, reject; stumble”), from Proto-Germanic *spurnaną (“to tread, kick, knock out”), from Proto-Indo-European *sperH-. Cognate with Scots spurn (“to strike, push, kick”), German spornen (“to spur on”), Icelandic sporna, spyrna (“to kick”), Latin spernō (“despise, distain, scorn”). Related to spur and spread.

verb

1. (transitive, intransitive) To reject disdainfully; contemn; scorn.
   Although the term “rewilding” – meaning an approach to conservation that allows nature a free rein – has been in currency since 1990, many traditional landowners and gamekeepers continue to spurn both the term and the idea behind it. February 25 2020, Christopher de Bellaigue, “The end of farming?”, in The Guardian
2. (transitive) To reject something by pushing it away with the foot.
3. (transitive) To waste; fail to make the most of (an opportunity)
   Marouane Chamakh then spurned a great chance to kill the game off when he ran onto Andrey Arshavin's lofted through ball but shanked his shot horribly across the face of goal. September 28, 2011, Tom Rostance, “Arsenal 2 - 1 Olympiakos”, in BBC Sport
4. (intransitive, obsolete) To kick or toss up the heels.

noun

1. An act of spurning; a scornful rejection.
2. A kick; a blow with the foot.
3. (obsolete) Disdainful rejection; contemptuous treatment.
4. (mining) A body of coal left to sustain an overhanging mass.