Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The act of unyoking or unharnessing oxen or horses.
- noun The time and place of the outspan; hence, an encampment; a camp.
- To unyoke or unhitch (oxen from a wagon); unharness or unsaddle (a horse or horses).
- To detach oxen from a wagon; hence, to encamp.
- To stretch beyond the span or reach of.
- To spread out or extend, as an arch.
- noun The entire span or stretch, especially the span of an arch.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- verb S. Africa To unyoke or disengage, as oxen from a wagon; to unharness (a horse).
- noun The act of outspanning.
- noun South African, South African, South African A place where outspanning is done
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb South Africa To release oxen from harness.
- noun South Africa The place where one outspans.
- noun An area on a farm kept available for travellers to rest and refresh their animals
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb remove the yoke or harness from
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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At our outspan at noon yesterday he came to me and offered me my liberty if I would help him.
Prester John 2005
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From an early start the following morning they put another twenty miles behind them before outspan that night and twenty more the next day.
When the Lion Feeds Smith, Wilbur 1964
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Since they had left Pretoria the small voices of the jackals had yapped discreetly around each outspan, they were so much a part of the African night that they went unnoticed, but now suddenly there was a difference.
When the Lion Feeds Smith, Wilbur 1964
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Sean left MbeJane to outspan the wagons on the open square in front of the church and he went to search for a doctor.
When the Lion Feeds Smith, Wilbur 1964
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This is my outspan place, the Boer explained to him.
When the Lion Feeds Smith, Wilbur 1964
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Visit Hugo's; dinner Van As; outspan (rest); cigar grand.
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I at once went back and informed De Wet, who ordered the column to halt and outspan.
With Steyn and De Wet Philip Pienaar
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There was nothing for it but to outspan and carry the heavy loads up the steep bank.
With Steyn and De Wet Philip Pienaar
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At 9.30 that morning the column moved on again, reached outspan at twenty miles by 1.35 in the afternoon, rested for an hour and a half and pushed on again till a quarter before midnight, when it rode into Wilhelmsfeste.
With Botha in the Field Eric Moore Ritchie
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The trek was done at a fierce pace till midnight, when an outspan was ordered; the party slept for four hours, and made Otjimbingwe just as the dawn of the 1st of May was breaking.
With Botha in the Field Eric Moore Ritchie
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