meaning of spell
1. A spelk, or splinter.
2. To supply the place of for a time; to take the turn of, at work; to relieve; as, to spell the helmsman.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. One of two or more persons or gangs who work by spells.
6. A gratuitous helping forward of anothers work; as, a logging spell.
7. A story; a tale.
8. A stanza, verse, or phrase supposed to be endowed with magical power; an incantation; hence, any charm.
9. To tell; to relate; to teach.
10. To put under the influence of a spell; to affect by a spell; to bewitch; to fascinate; to charm.
11. To constitute; to measure.
12. 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.
13. 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.
14. To form words with letters, esp. with the proper letters, either orally or in writing.
15. To study by noting characters; to gain knowledge or learn the meaning of anything, by study.
16. 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"
Related Words
spell | spell out | spell-checker | spellable | spellbind | spellbinder | spellbinding | spellbound | spelldown | spelled | speller | spellful | spelling | spelling bee | spelling checker | spelling contest | spellken | spellwork |
