1690s, from Latin sputum, noun use of neuter past participle of spuere "to spit" (see spew (v.)).
Entries linking to sputum
spew v.
Old English spiwan "spew, spit," from Proto-Germanic *spiew- (source also of Old Saxon spiwan, Old Norse spyja, Old Frisian spiwa, Middle Dutch spijen, Dutch spuwen, Old High German spiwan, German speien, Gothic spiewan "to spit"), from PIE *sp(y)eu- "to spew, spit," probably ultimately of imitative origin (source also of Latin spuere; Greek ptuein, Doric psyttein; Old Church Slavonic pljuja, Russian plevati; Lithuanian spiauti). Also in Old English as a weak verb, speowan. Related: Spewed; spewing.