What does the word "spare" mean here?

Question

I understood then why he (my father) preferred to be in the dark. By being there, he hoped to spare his family of a father's pain. His tears, though we didn't see them before that night, were there all the same.

what does the word "spare" mean here? Thanks.

Fandorin · Accepted Answer

Hi. Try this one.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spare%5B1%5D

I mean "to relieve of" (?3) suits best there.

Ahmed Atef · Answer

"Spare" here means "not to expose", not to expose his family to a father's pain or to exclude and eliminate the pain.

Qingqing · Answer

Thanks.  But I have looked up "spare" in several dictionaries and can't find the structure "spare...of...".

Anonymous · Answer

spare mean extra

BarbaraPA · Answer

Anonymousspare mean extra

It does not mean "extra" in this thread, which was answered four and half years ago.

What does the word "spare" mean here?

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