I. ˈspel noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, speech, talk, tale, from Old English; akin to Old High German spel tale, talk, Old Norse spjall, Gothic spill tale, talk, Greek apeilē boast, threat, Latvian pal'as rebuke, abuse
1.
a. obsolete : story , tale
b. : a spoken word or set of words believed to have magic power : charm , incantation
cause death by muttering spells over the young shoots of a certain tree — W.D.Wallis
c. : a state of enchantment
it was the voice that cracked the spell — that pleasant, homely, wheedling voice which brought with it daylight and common sense — John Buchan
2. : a strong compelling influence or attraction
even … enemies were unable to resist the spell of his presence — Alvin Redman
writing under the spell of the slavery controversy — R.A.Billington
II. transitive verb
( spelled -ld ; spelled ; spelling ; spells )
: to put under or as if under a spell : bewitch , charm
used witchcraft all these years to spell the ladies — Ray Bradbury
III. verb
( spelled -ld, -lt ; or chiefly British spelt -lt ; spelled or chiefly British spelt ; spelling ; spells )
Etymology: Middle English spellen, from Old French espeller, of Germanic origin; akin to Old English spellian to relate, talk, Middle High German spellen, Old Norse spialla to talk, mention, Gothic spillon to relate; denominative from the root of English spell (I)
transitive verb
1. : to read slowly and with difficulty
yourselves may spell it yet in chronicles — Robert Browning
— often used with out
laboriously spell out a newspaper — Time
2.
a. : to find out by study or investigation : discover — often used with out
spell out a God in the works of creation — Robert Southey
b. : comprehend , understand — often used with out
found it hard to spell out his meaning
c. : to give thought to : consider — often used with over
she spelt over the names of the guests at the houses — George Meredith
3.
a. : to name in order the letters of
spelled the word correctly
spelled the word incorrectly with two e' s
: write or print in order the letters of
the two writers spell the word in two different ways
b. : to make up (a word) : form , compose
what word do these letters spell
put the cards through a decoding machine to find out that the holes spelled “order now” — F.W.Boardman
4. : to add up to : amount to : mean , signify
sensitiveness without impulse spells decadence — A.N.Whitehead
crop failure was likely to spell stark famine — Stringfellow Barr
intransitive verb
1. : to form words with letters, symbols, or signs
writes well, but spells badly
spelled with difficulty on his fingers — Helen Keller
2. : to make a suggestion : ask , hint
never saw anybody in my life spell harder for an invitation — Jane Austen
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: probably alteration of Middle English speld, spelde spark, flake, splinter, from Old English speld torch, ember; akin to Gothic spilda tablet, Greek sphallein to cause to fall, Old High German spaltan to split; basic meaning: split piece of wood — more at spill
1. dialect chiefly Britain : splinter , fragment
2. dialect chiefly England : bar , rung
3. : the trap in the game of knur and spell
4. : a splinter raised from the back of an archery bow
V. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English spelen to spare, leave over, substitute, represent, from Old English spelian to stand in the place of, represent; akin to Old English spala substitute
transitive verb
1. : to supply the place of for a time : take the turn of : relieve
four-carrier teams spell each other every 15 minutes — National Geographic
he and the other assistant stage managers spelled each other — Mary McCarthy
2. : to allow an interval of rest to : rest
it was midday, and we squatted there, spelling the camels — I.L.Idriess
3. Australia : to interrupt grazing of (pasture) especially in order to prevent transmission of disease among grazing animals
intransitive verb
1. : to work in turns
she had learned to spell at the oars and help in the camp work — Arthur Mayse
2. : to rest from work or activity for a time
VI. noun
( -s )
Etymology: probably alteration (influenced by Middle English spelen to substitute) of Middle English spale substitute, from Old English spala
1.
a. archaic : a shift of workers
b. : a period of work taken by an individual or group in rotation with others : turn
as this work has to be done standing, it is generally shared between the assistants in spells lasting perhaps three hours — Choice of Careers: — Librarianship
2.
a. : an unbroken period spent in a specified job, occupation, or situation : hitch
a spell of clerking … during his teens — Jerome Ellison
a spell of service in the tropics — D.W.Brogan
became involved in a gambling scandal and did a spell in prison — Times Literary Supplement
b. chiefly Australia : a period of rest from work, activity, or use
the tired musterers sitting down … and having a ten minutes' spell and half a pipe — Mary S. Broome
the motor bike was getting a spell — F.S.Anthony
3.
a. : an indeterminate period of time
mark time for a spell — English Digest
a long spell when he appeared to be petering out — A.M.Mizener
b. : a stretch of a specified type of weather
a spell of rain
a long cold spell
4. : a period marked by illness, depression, or other abnormal physical or mental state
take me some time to get her to her room if she has one of her weak spells — Robertson Davies
you mustn't excite yourself … you've had a bad spell — Berton Roueché
: a seizure of some specified sickness or symptom : attack
a spell of dizziness, like a cough, is then a danger sign — Morris Fishbein
prolonged coughing spells — H.G.Armstrong
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- by spells