spell

Pronunciation

• IPA: /spel/^[1]

spell¹ name the letters

Etymology

To name the letters is inherited from Middle English spellen, borrowed from Old French espeller (“to explain; to spell out”),^[2][3][4][5] from a Germanic source, probably Frankish *spellōn (“to tell”),^[2][6] from the same root as Old English spell “story”.^[3][4] Barnhart alone holds that it also partly continues Old English spellian “to tell, relate”.^[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

To read letter by letter, or slowly and with difficulty: before 1325 in Barnhart, in Cursor Mundi, and the early 14th century in Etymonline.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

To write or say the letters of a word is probably from before 1400, and to form words by letters from about 1400.^[3][2] To make out or decipher is from the 16th century,^[4] and to signify or mean, as in this spells trouble, developed later.^[7][8] Spelling bee is from 1875.^[3] Word Origins notes that the development ran from “speak, tell” to reading out with difficulty, which in turn led to using the right letters.^[9]

Timeline

• before 1325 – to read letter by letter.^[3]
• c. 1400 – to form words from letters.^[2]
• 1875 – spelling bee.^[3]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To name or write the letters of a word in order.
2. Of letters, to make up a word: c-a-t spells cat.
3. To mean or lead to: this spells disaster.

spell² charm

Etymology

The charm is inherited from Middle English spel, inherited from Old English spell (“story, discourse, speech”),^[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *spellam,^[2][4][3] which also gave Old Saxon and Old High German spel, Old Norse spjall and Gothic spill “tale”.^[3][5] Barnhart suggests cognates outside Germanic such as Greek apeilḗ “threat”, from PIE Proto-Indo-European *spel- (“to speak out loud”),^[3] while Hoad calls the origin unknown.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Discourse, narration or a tale: about 888 in the OED; it is in Beowulf.^[10][3]

Semantic evolution

The old senses are obsolete, but survive in gospel, “good tale”.^[2][9][3] A set of words supposed to have magical power is from 1579,^[10][3] by way of the 14th-century compound nightspell, a charm against harm at night,^[4][9] and an occult or fascinating influence from 1592.^[10] Spellbound is from the 18th century.^[4] In Scots and some English dialects, spell still meant a story or tale.^[11]

Timeline

• c. 888 – discourse, a tale.^[10]
• 1579 – a magic formula.^[10][3]
• 1592 – a fascinating influence.^[10]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Words believed to have magical power; a charm or incantation.
2. A strong, compelling influence or attraction: under her spell.

spell³ period; relieve

Etymology

The period of time is from the verb “to relieve”, a later form of Middle English spelen,^[4][2] inherited from Old English spelian (“to take the place of, represent”), related to gespelia “substitute”, of uncertain origin.^[3][2][4] Etymonline suggests a link with Old English spilian “to play” (see spiel).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A relief gang, a set of workers taking a turn: 1593 in the OED and Barnhart; the verb, to work in place of another, is from 1595, in Raleigh's Discovery of Guiana.^[10][3]

Semantic evolution

A turn of work taken to relieve another is from before 1625.^[3] A continuous period of some activity is from 1706, and an indefinite stretch of time, a while, from 1728.^[3][6] In Australia the verb also means to rest, especially a horse.^[6]

Timeline

• 1593 – a relief gang.^[10]
• 1595 – to relieve at work.^[3]
• 1706 – a period of an activity.^[3]
• 1728 – a while.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A period of time, often of some weather or activity: a cold spell.
2. A turn of work.

Verb

1. (chiefly North American) To take a turn at work in place of another person.

Related words

• gospel
• spelling
• spellbound

Usage notes

The past tense is spelled or, chiefly British, spelt.^[1][8] Spell, a splinter or a bar, is a different dialect word, perhaps a variant of speld,^[6][5] and was the name of the trap in the game of knur and spell.^[10]

References

1. ^ a b Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
8. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
9. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
11. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)