GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English
last match results
Found 6 definitions
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Spell (?), n. [OE. speld, AS. speld a spill to light a candle with; akin to D. speld a pin, OD. spelle, G. spalten to split, OHG. spaltan, MHG. spelte a splinter, Icel. spjald a square tablet, Goth. spilda a writing tablet. Cf. Spillsplinter, roll of paper, Spell to tell the letters of.] A spelk, or splinter. [Obs.] Holland.
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Spell, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spelled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Spelling.] [AS. spelian to supply another's place.] To supply the place of for a time; to take the turn of, at work; to relieve; as, “to spell the helmsman”.
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Spell, n.
1. The relief of one person by another in any piece of work or watching; also, a turn at work which is carried on by one person or gang relieving another; as, “a spell at the pumps; a spell at the masthead”.
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A spell at the wheel is called a trick. Ham. Nav. Encyc.
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2. The time during which one person or gang works until relieved; hence, any relatively short period of time, whether a few hours, days, or weeks.
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Nothing new has happened in this quarter, except the setting in of a severe spell of cold weather. Washington.
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3. One of two or more persons or gangs who work by spells. [R.]
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Their toil is so extreme that they can not endure it above four hours in a day, but are succeeded by spells. Garew.
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4. A gratuitous helping forward of another's work; as, “a logging spell”. [Local, U.S.]
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Spell (?), n.[AS. spell a saying, tale, speech; akin to OS. & OHG. spel, Icel. spjall,Goth. spill. Cf. Gospel, Spell to tell the letters of.]
1. A story; a tale. [Obs.] “Hearken to my spell.” Chaucer.
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2. A stanza, verse, or phrase supposed to be endowed with magical power; an incantation; hence, any charm.
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Start not; her actions shall be holy as
You hear my spell is lawful. Shak.
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Spell, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spelled () or Spelt (); p. pr. & vb. n. Spelling.] [OE. spellen, spellien, tell, relate, AS. spellian, fr. spell a saying, tale; akin to MHG. spellen to relate, Goth. spilln.e Spell a tale. In sense 4 and those following, OE. spellen, perhaps originally a different word, and from or influenced by spell a splinter, from the use of a piece of wood to point to the letters in schools: cf. D. spellen to spell. Cf. Spell splinter.]
1. To tell; to relate; to teach. [Obs.]
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Might I that legend find,
By fairies spelt in mystic rhymes. T. Warton.
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2. To put under the influence of a spell; to affect by a spell; to bewitch; to fascinate; to charm. “Spelled with words of power.” Dryden.
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He was much spelled with Eleanor Talbot. Sir G. Buck.
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3. To constitute; to measure. [Obs.]
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The Saxon heptarchy, when seven kings put together did spell but one in effect. Fuller.
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4. To tell or name in their proper order letters of, as a word; to write or print in order the letters of, esp. the proper letters; to form, as words, by correct orthography.
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The word “satire” ought to be spelled with i, and not with y. Dryden.
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5. To discover by characters or marks; to read with difficulty; -- usually with out; as, “to spell out the sense of an author; to spell out a verse in the Bible.”
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To spell out a God in the works of creation. South.
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To sit spelling and observing divine justice upon every accident. Milton.
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Spell, v. i.
1. To form words with letters, esp. with the proper letters, either orally or in writing.
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When what small knowledge was, in them did dwell,
And he a god, who could but read or spell. Dryden.
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2. To study by noting characters; to gain knowledge or learn the meaning of anything, by study. [Obs.]
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Where I may sit and rightly spell
Of every star that heaven doth shew,
And every herb that sips the dew. Milton.
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