Spaw

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. An old spelling of spa, meaning a mineral spring or a resort built around waters believed to have healing properties
2. A mineral spring whose waters were once thought to cure illness, or the resort town that grew up around it
3. Archaic term for a source of mineral-rich water, or a place visited for its curative bathing and drinking springs

Etymology: "Spaw" is a variant of "spoor," the track or trail an animal leaves behind, usually its footprints or scent. The word is best known from hunting and tracking, where a trail of prints or droppings tells a tracker which way the animal went and how recently it passed. Because "spaw" is a variant rather than a separate word, its meaning is the same as "spoor," and the spelling difference reflects an alternate form of that one word.