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35,981 English word records · 45,491 etymology sections in this online subset
PARTIAL ENGLISH COVERAGE · FULL CORPUS REMAINS LOCAL6 source sections across 2 headwords matching “Spell”. These are separate from the reviewed results below.
SpellEnglish (en) · Unnumbered etymologySource text
From the German surname, perhaps related to Speller.
Original Wiktionary entry and references ↗spellEnglish (en) · Etymology 1Source text
From Middle English spell, spel, from Old English spell (“news, story”), from Proto-Germanic *spellą (“speech, account, tale”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pel- (“to tell”) or from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to speak, to sound”) with the s-mobile prefix. Cognate with dialectal German Spill, Icelandic spjall (“discussion, talk”), spjalla (“to discuss, to talk”), guðspjall (“gospel”) and Albanian fjalë (“word”).
Original Wiktionary entry and references ↗spellEnglish (en) · Etymology 2Source text
From Middle English spellen, from Anglo-Norman espeler, espeleir, Old French espeller, espeler (compare Modern French épeler), from Frankish *spelōn, merged with native Old English spellian (“to tell, speak”), both eventually from Proto-Germanic *spellōną (“to speak”). Related with etymology 1. The sense “indicate a future event” probably in part a backformation from forespell (literally “to tell in advance”).
Original Wiktionary entry and references ↗spellEnglish (en) · Etymology 3Source text
From Middle English spelen, from Old English spelian (“to represent, take or stand in the place of another, act as a representative of another”), akin to Middle English spale (“a rest or break”), Old English spala (“representative, substitute”).
Original Wiktionary entry and references ↗spellEnglish (en) · Etymology 3Source text
From Middle English spelen, from Old English spelian (“to represent, take or stand in the place of another, act as a representative of another”), akin to Middle English spale (“a rest or break”), Old English spala (“representative, substitute”).
Original Wiktionary entry and references ↗spellEnglish (en) · Etymology 4Source text
From Middle English spel (“a thin piece of wood”), from Old Norse [Term?].
Original Wiktionary entry and references ↗INDEPENDENT SOURCE LIBRARY
More sources for this spelling
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Chambers (1908)
1908- SpellEnglish · e-38700-2662
Spell, spel, n. any form of words supposed to possess magical power: fascination.—v.t. to tell or name the letters of: to name, write, or print the proper letters of.—v.i. to form words with the proper letters: to study:
Read the full source record → - SpellEnglish · e-38700-2663
Spell, spel, v.t. to take another's place at work:—pr.p. spell′ing; pa.t. and pa.p. spelled.—n. a turn at work: a short period indefinitely: an interval of rest: a bad turn. [A.S. spelian, to act for another; cf. Dut. sp
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