squander

Etymology

Earliest uses (late 16th c.) "to spend recklessly or prodigiously", also "to scatter over a wide area". Of unknown origin. Perhaps a blend of scatter + wander. Compare Danish skvætte (rare)/skvatte (“to splash”) (nominalised: skvæt), Icelandic skvetta (“to squirt”), Swedish skvätta (“to splash”), Norwegian Bokmål skvette.

verb

  1. To waste, lavish, splurge; to spend lavishly or profusely; to dissipate.
    1746, Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanac Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that's the stuff life is made of.
    As the game opened up, Bolton squandered a fine opportunity to equalise - Chris Eagles shooting straight at Szczesny - but then back came Arsenal. September 24, 2011, David Ornstein, “Arsenal 3 - 0 Bolton”, in BBC Sport
  2. (obsolete) To scatter; to disperse.
  3. (obsolete) To wander at random; to scatter.

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