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This spell led to spell down in the 1800s. That expression refers to defeating someone in a spelling match, bee, tournament, fight, etc., and the act of spelling was becoming something fierce. There were reading exercises and a spelling-fight. — Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer, 1876. In the 20th century, spell out, meaning "to make plain"—as in "Do ...
Apr 22, 2017 · The Online Etymology Dictionary says the first recorded use of spell to mean an "indefinite period of time" is in 1706. Also, M-W does not list this usage of spell as a colloquialism or slang, so I think it's appropriate for formal writing, wherever it is appropriate to use such a vague word.
Apr 21, 2023 · spell (v.1) early 14c., spellen, "read letter by letter, write or say the letters of;" c. 1400, "form words by means of letters," said in most etymology sources to be from Anglo-French espeller, Old French espelir "to mean, signify; explain, interpret," also "spell out letters, pronounce, recite." This French word is from Frankish *spellon "to ...
The earliest known use of the verb spell is in the Old English period (pre-1150). ... spell, v.¹ was first published in 1914; not yet revised. spell, v. ...
Apr 5, 2012 · The word “spell” comes from the Proto-Germanic “spellan”, meaning “to tell”, which in turn gave rise to the Old English “spellian” and then “spell”. The first recorded instance of spell, being used to indicate writing or reciting the individual letters of a word, was in the early 15th century. It would later be given the ...
Feb 23, 2017 · Old English 'Spell' Books. In the list of books bequeathed by Bishop Leofric of Exeter (d. 1072) to his cathedral, one entry might, at first glance, take a modern reader by surprise: a ‘ful spelboc’, or a full spell book. This is not, however, evidence that the learned bishop was dabbling in magic. In Old English, spell just meant ‘saying ...
Spelling - English Grammar Today - a reference to written and spoken English grammar and usage - Cambridge Dictionary
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