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definitions

spelt

1
[spelt]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR spelt ON THESAURUS.COM

verb

a simple past tense and past participle of spell1.

spelt

2
[spelt]

noun

one of the earliest cultivated forms of wheat, Triticum aestivum spelta, native to southern Europe and western Asia, used for livestock feed and as a grain for human consumption.

Origin of spelt

2
before 1000; Middle English, Old English from Late Latin spelta, probably from Germanic; compare Old High German spelza (German Spelt)

spell

1
[spel]

verb (used with object), spelled or spelt, spell·ing.

to name, write, or otherwise give the letters, in order, of (a word, syllable, etc.): Did I spell your name right?
(of letters) to form (a word, syllable, etc.): The letters spelled a rather rude word.
to read letter by letter or with difficulty (often followed by out): She painfully spelled out the message.
to discern or find, as if by reading or study (often followed by out).
to signify; amount to: This delay spells disaster for us.

verb (used without object), spelled or spelt, spell·ing.

to name, write, or give the letters of words, syllables, etc.: He spells poorly.
to express words by letters, especially correctly.

Verb Phrases

spell down, to outspell others in a spelling match.
spell out,
  1. to explain something explicitly, so that the meaning is unmistakable: Must I spell it out for you?
  2. to write out in full or enumerate the letters of which a word is composed: The title “Ph.D.” is seldom spelled out.

Origin of spell

1
1250–1300; Middle English spellen < Old French espeller < Germanic; compare Old English spellian to talk, announce (derivative of spell spell2), Old High German -spellōn, Old Norse spjalla, Gothic spillōn
Related formsspell·a·ble, adjectiveun·spell·a·ble, adjective

Synonyms for spell

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR spell ON THESAURUS.COM
5. foretell, portend, mean, promise.

spell

3
[spel]

noun

a continuous course or period of work or other activity: to take a spell at the wheel.
a turn of work so taken.
a turn, bout, fit, or period of anything experienced or occurring: a spell of coughing.
an indefinite interval or space of time: Come visit us for a spell.
a period of weather of a specified kind: a hot spell.
Australian. a rest period.
Archaic. a person or set of persons taking a turn of work to relieve another.

verb (used with object)

to take the place of for a time; relieve: Let me spell you at the wheel.
Australian. to declare or give a rest period to.

verb (used without object)

Australian. to have or take a rest period.

Origin of spell

3
1585–95; (v.) alteration of earlier spele to stand instead of, relieve, spare, Middle English spelen, Old English spelian; akin to Old English spala, gespelia a substitute; (noun) akin to the v. (perhaps continuing Old English gespelia)

Synonyms for spell

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR spell ON THESAURUS.COM
4. while, bit, piece.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for spelt

signify, suggest, intend, portend, indicate, augur, presage, breathe, connote, express, denote, herald, promise, import, release, relieve, allow, free, orthographize

Examples from the Web for spelt

Contemporary Examples of spelt

  • I too was taught the trade of man  And spelt the lesson plain; But they, when I forgot and ran,  Remembered and remain.

    The Daily Beast logo
    Judge Not the Deserters

    Charles Glass

    May 26, 2013

Historical Examples of spelt

British Dictionary definitions for spelt

spelt

1

verb

a past tense and past participle of spell 1

spelt

2

noun

a species of wheat, Triticum spelta, that was formerly much cultivated and was used to develop present-day cultivated wheats

Word Origin for spelt

Old English; related to Old Saxon spelta, Old High German spelza

spell

1

verb spells, spelling, spelt or spelled

to write or name in correct order the letters that comprise the conventionally accepted form of (a word or part of a word)
(tr) (of letters) to go to make up the conventionally established form of (a word) when arranged correctlyd-o-g spells dog
(tr) to indicate or signifysuch actions spell disaster for our cause
See also spell out
Derived Formsspellable, adjective

Word Origin for spell

C13: from Old French espeller, of Germanic origin; related to Old Norse spialla to talk, Middle High German spellen

spell

2

noun

a verbal formula considered as having magical force
any influence that can control the mind or character; fascination
a state induced by or as if by the pronouncing of a spell; tranceto break the spell
under a spell held in or as if in a spell

verb

(tr) rare to place under a spell

Word Origin for spell

Old English spell speech; related to Old Norse spjall tale, Gothic spill, Old High German spel

spell

3

noun

an indeterminate, usually short, period of timea spell of cold weather
a period or tour of duty after which one person or group relieves another
Scot, Australian and NZ a period or interval of rest

verb

(tr) to take over from (a person) for an interval of time; relieve temporarily
spell a paddock NZ to give a field a rest period by letting it lie fallow

Word Origin for spell

Old English spelian to take the place of, of obscure origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for spelt
n.

Old English spelt, perhaps an early borrowing from Late Latin spelta "spelt" (c.400, noted as a foreign word), which is perhaps ultimately from PIE root *spel- "to split, to break off" (probably in reference to the splitting of its husks in threshing), which is related to the root of flint.

The word had little currency in English, and its history is discontinuous. Widespread in Romanic languages (cf. Italian spelta, Spanish espelta, Old French spelte, Modern French épeautre). The word also is widespread in Germanic (cf. Old High German spelta, German Spelt), and a Germanic language is perhaps the source of the Late Latin word.

spell

v.1

"name the letters of," Old English spellian "to tell, speak," infl. by Old French espeller "declare, spell," from Frankish *spellon "to tell;" both Old English and Frankish from Proto-Germanic *spellan (cf. Old High German spellon "to tell," Old Norse spjalla, Gothic spillon "to talk, tell"), from PIE *spel- "to say aloud, recite." Related: Spelled; spelling.

Meaning "write or say the letters of a word" is c.1400, from notion of "read letter by letter, read with difficulty" (c.1300). Spell out "explain step-by-step" is first recorded 1940, American English. Spelling bee is from 1878 (earlier simply spelling, 1860).

spell

n.

"incantation, charm," Old English spell "story, speech," from Proto-Germanic *spellan (cf. Old Norse spjall, Old High German spel, Gothic spill "report, discourse, tale;" German Beispiel "example;" see spell (v.1)). Meaning "set of words with magical powers, incantation, charm" first recorded 1570s.

The term 'spell' is generally used for magical procedures which cause harm, or force people to do something against their will -- unlike charms for healing, protection, etc. ["Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore"]

spell

v.2

"work in place of (another)," Old English spelian "to take the place of," related to gespelia "substitute," of uncertain origin. Perhaps related to spilian "to play" (see spiel). Related: Spelled; spelling. The noun meaning "indefinite period of time" first recorded 1706.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with spelt

spell

In addition to the idiom beginning with spell

  • spell out

also see:

  • cold snap (spell)
  • under someone's spell
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.