Result from Foreign Dictionaries (8 entries found)

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: Spell \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. {Spill}splinter, roll of paper, {Spell} to tell the letters of.] A spelk, or splinter. [Obs.] --Holland. [1913 Webster] From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: Spell \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. [1913 Webster] From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: Spell \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. [1913 Webster] 2. A stanza, verse, or phrase supposed to be endowed with magical power; an incantation; hence, any charm. [1913 Webster] Start not; her actions shall be holy as You hear my spell is lawful. --Shak. [1913 Webster] From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: Spell \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. [1913 Webster] A spell at the wheel is called a trick. --Ham. Nav. Encyc. [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster] Nothing new has happened in this quarter, except the setting in of a severe spell of cold weather. --Washington. [1913 Webster] 3. One of two or more persons or gangs who work by spells. [R.] [1913 Webster] Their toil is so extreme that they can not endure it above four hours in a day, but are succeeded by spells. --Garew. [1913 Webster] 4. A gratuitous helping forward of another's work; as, a logging spell. [Local, U.S.] [1913 Webster] From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: Spell \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. spill?n.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.] [1913 Webster] Might I that legend find, By fairies spelt in mystic rhymes. --T. Warton. [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster] He was much spelled with Eleanor Talbot. --Sir G. Buck. [1913 Webster] 3. To constitute; to measure. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] The Saxon heptarchy, when seven kings put together did spell but one in effect. --Fuller. [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster] The word "satire" ought to be spelled with i, and not with y. --Dryden. [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster] To spell out a God in the works of creation. --South. [1913 Webster] To sit spelling and observing divine justice upon every accident. --Milton. [1913 Webster] From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: Spell \Spell\, v. i. 1. To form words with letters, esp. with the proper letters, either orally or in writing. [1913 Webster] When what small knowledge was, in them did dwell, And he a god, who could but read or spell. --Dryden. [1913 Webster] 2. To study by noting characters; to gain knowledge or learn the meaning of anything, by study. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] Where I may sit and rightly spell Of every star that heaven doth shew, And every herb that sips the dew. --Milton. [1913 Webster] From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: spell n 1: a psychological state induced by (or as if induced by) a magical incantation [syn: {enchantment}, {spell}, {trance}] 2: a time for working (after which you will be relieved by someone else); "it's my go"; "a spell of work" [syn: {go}, {spell}, {tour}, {turn}] 3: a period of indeterminate length (usually short) marked by some action or condition; "he was here for a little while"; "I need to rest for a piece"; "a spell of good weather"; "a patch of bad weather" [syn: {while}, {piece}, {spell}, {patch}] 4: a verbal formula believed to have magical force; "he whispered a spell as he moved his hands"; "inscribed around its base is a charm in Balinese" [syn: {spell}, {magic spell}, {magical spell}, {charm}] v 1: orally recite the letters of or give the spelling of; "How do you spell this word?" "We had to spell out our names for the police officer" [syn: {spell}, {spell out}] 2: indicate or signify; "I'm afraid this spells trouble!" [syn: {spell}, {import}] 3: write or name the letters that comprise the conventionally accepted form of (a word or part of a word); "He spelled the word wrong in this letter" [syn: {spell}, {write}] 4: relieve (someone) from work by taking a turn; "She spelled her husband at the wheel" 5: place under a spell [ant: {unspell}] 6: take turns working; "the workers spell every four hours" From The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003) [jargon]: spell n. Syn. {incantation}.