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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Spell \Spell\, verb (used with an object) [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.]
Might I that legend find, By fairies spelt in mystic rhymes. --T. Warton.
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.
He was much spelled with Eleanor Talbot. --Sir G. Buck.
3. To constitute; to measure. [Obs.]
The Saxon heptarchy, when seven kings put together did spell but one in effect. --Fuller.
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.
The word ''satire'' ought to be spelled with i, and not with y. --Dryden.
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.
To spell out a God in the works of creation. --South.
To sit spelling and observing divine justice upon every accident. --Milton.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Spell \Spell\, noun
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.
A spell at the wheel is called a trick. --Ham. Nav. Encyc.
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.
Nothing new has happened in this quarter, except the setting in of a severe spell of cold weather. --Washington.
3. One of two or more persons or gangs who work by spells. [R.]
Their toil is so extreme that they can not endure it above four hours in a day, but are succeeded by spells. --Garew.
4. A gratuitous helping forward of another's work; as, a logging spell. [Local, U.S.]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Spell \Spell\, noun [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.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Spell \Spell\, noun[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.
2. A stanza, verse, or phrase supposed to be endowed with magical power; an incantation; hence, any charm.
Start not; her actions shall be holy as You hear my spell is lawful. --Shak.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Spell \Spell\, verb (used with an object) [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.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Spell \Spell\, verb (used without an object)
1. To form words with letters, esp. with the proper letters, either orally or in writing.
When what small knowledge was, in them did dwell, And he a god, who could but read or spell. --Dryden.
2. To study by noting characters; to gain knowledge or learn the meaning of anything, by study. [Obs.]
Where I may sit and rightly spell Of every star that heaven doth shew, And every herb that sips the dew. --Milton.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
spell
noun
1: a psychological state induced by (or as if induced by) a magical incantation [syn: {enchantment}, {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}, {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}, {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: {magic spell}, {charm}]
verb
1: recite the letters of or give the spelling of; "How do you spell this word?"
2: indicate or signify; "I'm afraid this spells trouble!" [syn: {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: {write}]
4: place under a spell [ant: {unspell}] [also: {spelt}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
280 Moby Thesaurus words for "spell": Jonah, access, act for, add up to, alchemy, allure, alternate, amount to, appeal, argue, arsis, attraction, augur, bad influence, be construed as, beat, becharm, beguile, bespeak, betoken, bewitch, bewitchery, bewitching, bit, bode, bout, break, breath, breathe, breather, breathing place, breathing space, breathing spell, breathing time, captivate, captivation, carry away, cast a spell, chance, change places with, charm, cigarette break, circle, circuit, clarify, cocktail hour, coffee break, conjuration, connote, course, cover, crowd out, curse, cut out, cycle, day, delineate, denote, diastole, displace, divination, divine, do a hitch, do a stint, do a tour, do time, double for, downbeat, downtime, draw, duration, elucidate, enchant, enchanting, enchantment, enforced respite, enlist, enrapture, enravish, enthrall, entrance, evil eye, evil genius, evil star, express, fascinate, fascination, fateful moment, fetishism, fill in for, fit, folklore, foretoken, formula, ghost, ghostwrite, glamour, go, gramarye, halt, happy hour, have a go, have tenure, hex, hint, hold office, hoodoo, hour, hypnotize, ill wind, imply, import, incantation, indicate, infatuate, influence, inning, innings, instant, intend, interlude, intermission, interval, intrigue, jinx, juju, jujuism, juncture, kairos, keep a watch, lay off, letup, lie by, look like, lore, lull, lure, magic, magnetism, malevolent influence, malocchio, mean, mesmerism, mesmerize, minute, moment, moment of truth, natural magic, necromancy, obeah, omen, opportunity, orthographize, outspell, patch, pause, period, pinch-hit, place, point, point to, popular belief, portend, prefigure, pregnant moment, preindicate, presage, presign, presignal, presignify, pretypify, promise, psychological moment, pull, pulse, re-up, recess, reenlist, refer to, relay, relief, relieve, replace, represent, respite, rest, revolution, rotation, round, run, rune, say, season, seizure, series, serve time, shamanism, shift, sign up, signify, sorcery, sortilege, space, span, specify, spell backward, spell off, spell out, spellbind, spellbinding, spellcasting, stage, stand for, stand in for, stay, stint, streak, stretch, subrogate, substitute for, succeed, suggest, supersede, superstition, superstitiousness, supplant, surcease, suspension, swap places with, syllabize, syllable, symbolize, sympathetic magic, systole, take over, take turns, tea break, tenure, term, thaumaturgia, thaumaturgics, thaumaturgism, thaumaturgy, thesis, theurgy, time, time at bat, time lag, time off, time out, token, tour, tour of duty, trace out, tradition, trance, transport, trick, turn, typify, understudy for, upbeat, vamp, vampirism, voodoo, voodooism, wanga, watch, whack, whammy, wheel, whet, while, white magic, witch, witchcraft, witchery, witchwork, wizardry, write out
From Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001) [jargon]:
spell n. Syn. {incantation}.
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:
spell {incantation}
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