[ spri[ng] ] (verb.) before 12th century. Middle English springen, from Old English springan, from Proto-Germanic *springanan (cf. West Frisian springe, Dutch/German springen, Swedish springa), from Proto-Indo-European *spr̥g̑h (compare Lithuanian spreñgti ‘to push in’, Old Church Slavonic pręgti ‘to spin, stretch’, Ancient Greek spérchesthai ‘to hasten’, Sanskrit spṛhayati ‘is eager’). Sense of ‘season’ 1547, from earlier springing time, spring-time, in sense of buds sprouting or “spring” up. This replaced Old English Lent by the 14th century.“” in the Online Etymology Dictionary, Douglas Harper, 2001 Sense of ‘source of water’ attested circa 1225.