Dictionary Definition
spell
Noun
1 a psychological state induced by (or as if
induced by) a magical incantation [syn: enchantment, trance]
2 a time for working (after which you will be
relieved by someone else); "it's my go"; "a spell of work" [syn:
go, tour, turn]
3 a period of indeterminate length (usually
short) marked by some action or condition; "he was here for a
little while"; "I need to rest for a piece"; "a spell of good
weather"; "a patch of bad weather" [syn: while, piece, patch]
4 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" [syn: magic spell,
charm]
Verb
1 recite the letters of or give the spelling of;
"How do you spell this word?"
2 indicate or signify; "I'm afraid this spells
trouble!" [syn: import]
3 write or name the letters that comprise the
conventionally accepted form of (a word or part of a word); "He
spelled the word wrong in this letter" [syn: write]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Pronunciation
- , /spɛl/, /spEl/
- Rhymes with: -ɛl
Etymology 1
etyl ang spelNoun
- words or a formula supposed to have magical powers; a magical
incantation.
- he cast a spell to cure warts.
- a magical effect induced by an incantation or formula.
- a relatively short period of time of indeterminate length.
- We’re in the midst of a cold spell.
- He had a spell of bad luck.
- under a spell
- He had a spell of bad luck.
- We’re in the midst of a cold spell.
- a mild or momentary emotional outburst; a fit, a tantrum; a moment.
- a petit mal
- an uninterrupted series of alternate overs bowled by a single bowler
- In the context of "horseracing": time off from competition
Translations
magical incantation
- Czech: kouzlo
- Dutch: toverspreuk
- Esperanto: sorĉo
- Finnish: loitsu
- French: charme , maléfice italbrac for an evil spell
- German: Zauberspruch
- Interlingua: incantamento, formula magic,
- Portuguese: encanto , encantamento , feitiço , fórmula mágica
- Romanian: vrajă , farmec , descântec
- Russian: заклинание (zaklinánije)
- Slovenian: urok
- Swedish: trollformel, besvärjelse
magical effect induced by an incantation
- Czech: kouzlo
- Dutch: betovering
- Finnish: lumous, loitsu
- French: charme , maléfice italbrac for an evil spell
- German: Zauber
- Interlingua: incantamento
- Portuguese: encanto , encantamento , feitiço
- Slovenian: urok
- Swedish: trollformel, besvärjelse
short period of time of indeterminate length
Etymology 2
etyl ang spelianVerb
- to comprise a word, as the letters “a”, “n” and “d” spell “and”.
- to write or say the letters that form a word or part of a word.
- to mean, indicate or signify
- This spells trouble.
- to work in place of someone else; to relieve.
Translations
to comprise a word
to write or say the letters that form a word
- Arabic:
- Chinese: 拼 (pīn)
- Czech: hláskovat
- Danish: stave
- Dutch: spellen
- Esperanto: literumi
- Finnish: tavata
- French: épeler
- German: buchstabieren
- Greek: γράφω ορθογραφημένα (grápho orthographiména)
- Hungarian: betűzni
- Interlingua: orthographiar
- Italian: sillabare
- Japanese: 綴る (つづる, tsutzuru)
- Korean: 철자하다 (cheoljahada)
- Portuguese: soletrar
- Russian: произносить по буквам (proiznosít’ po búkvam)
- Slovene: črkovati
- Spanish: deletrear
- Swedish: stava
to mean, indicate or signify
- Dutch: betekenen
- Finnish: tarkoittaa, merkitä
- Greek: συνεπάγομαι (sinepágomay)
- Interlingua: indicar
- Portuguese: indicar
- Swedish: betyda
to relieve
Faroese
Pronunciation
- [spɛdl]
Noun
spellDeclension
Extensive Definition
Spell can be:
- Spell (paranormal)
- Spell (recipe)
- The Spell , a novel
- Spell (band), a musical group consisting of Boyd Rice and Rose McDowall
- The Spells, an American indie rock band of the late 1990s consisting of Carrie Brownstein and Mary Timony
- Society for the Preservation of English Language and Literature (SPELL)
- "Spell", a 1997 song by Patti Smith from her album Peace and Noise.
People called Spell:
- Melissa Spell, the actress
See also
- Spelling
- For spells in a game context, see magic (gaming)
- Spells in Harry Potter
spell in German: Zauberspruch
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
Jonah,
access, act for, add up
to, alchemy, allure, alternate, amount to, appeal, argue, arsis, attraction, augur, bad influence, be construed
as, beat, becharm, beguile, bespeak, betoken, bewitch, bewitchery, bewitching, bit, bode, bout, break, breath, breathe, breather, breathing place,
breathing space, breathing spell, breathing time, captivate, captivation, carry away,
cast a spell, chance,
change places with, charm,
cigarette break, circle,
circuit, clarify, cocktail hour, coffee
break, conjuration,
connote, course, cover, crowd out, curse, cut out, cycle, day, delineate, denote, diastole, displace, divination, divine, do a hitch, do a stint,
do a tour, do time, double for, downbeat, downtime, draw, duration, elucidate, enchant, enchanting, enchantment, enforced
respite, enlist, enrapture, enravish, enthrall, entrance, evil eye, evil
genius, evil star, express, fascinate, fascination, fateful moment,
fetishism, fill in
for, fit, folklore, foretoken, formula, ghost, ghostwrite, glamour, go, gramarye, halt, happy hour, have a go, have
tenure, hex, hint, hold office, hoodoo, hour, hypnotize, ill wind, imply, import, incantation, indicate, infatuate, influence, inning, innings, instant, intend, interlude, intermission, interval, intrigue, jinx, juju, jujuism, juncture, kairos, keep a watch, lay off,
letup, lie by, look like,
lore, lull, lure, magic, magnetism, malevolent
influence, malocchio,
mean, mesmerism, mesmerize, minute, moment, moment of truth, natural
magic, necromancy,
obeah, omen, opportunity, orthographize, outspell, patch, pause, period, pinch-hit, place, point, point to, popular belief,
portend, prefigure, pregnant moment,
preindicate,
presage, presign, presignal, presignify, pretypify, promise, psychological moment,
pull, pulse, re-up, recess, reenlist, refer to, relay, relief, relieve, replace, represent, respite, rest, revolution, rotation, round, run, rune, say, season, seizure, series, serve time, shamanism, shift, sign up, signify, sorcery, sortilege, space, span, specify, spell backward, spell
off, spell out, spellbind, spellbinding, spellcasting, stage, stand for, stand in for,
stay, stint, streak, stretch, subrogate, substitute for,
succeed, suggest, supersede, superstition, superstitiousness,
supplant, surcease, suspension, swap places with,
syllabize, syllable, symbolize, sympathetic magic,
systole, take over, take
turns, tea break, tenure,
term, thaumaturgia, thaumaturgics, thaumaturgism, thaumaturgy, thesis, theurgy, time, time at bat, time lag, time
off, time out, token,
tour, tour of duty, trace
out, tradition,
trance, transport, trick, turn, typify, understudy for, upbeat, vamp, vampirism, voodoo, voodooism, wanga, watch, whack, whammy, wheel, whet, while, white magic, witch, witchcraft, witchery, witchwork, wizardry, write
out