5815 
speer 
xpiirja, ask, spitni, track, trace, = Dan. spiirgr, 
ask, inquire, spore, track, trace), < spur, a track, 
footprint, = MLG. spor = D. spoor, trace. = spelding (spel'diug), . [Also spi'lilrn, sprl- 
OHG. M IK!. . -/'/,<!. spur = Icel. spor = Sw. ilrini/. xprlilrin. .v/ I'lnm : < ,s/7</ + -iinj A .] A 
spSr = Dan. *por, a track, trace : see spoor and small fish split and dried in the sun. [Scotch.] 
sniir] To make diligent inquiry ; ask; inquire; spelean,". See sprl;ciiii. 
Spelerpes (spe-ler'pe/.), . [NL. (Kafinesque, 
18312), irreg. ^ Cir. a^ift.aiov, a cave, + i/t-ur, 
creep.] A genus of I'lfthodontnlii', having the 
digits free, containing numerous species of 
small American salamanders, often handsome- 
ly colored. S. longicauda is a slender long-tailed fiirin 
found in the Southern States, of a rich-yellow color, with 
spell 
Sift thatt tu cannst ipettdnrm hemm spell 1 (spel ), c. [< M K. .</"'"'. spi "'' ' "'/" "'" 
Adam thn Undent QKUdredd. Onnuitnn, 1. 16410. xnjlii-ii, < .\S. XIH limn i pret, 
iiiquire of or about. [Now chiefly Scotch.] 
Shu tuni'd her richt and round about, 
To spier her true love's name. 
7'iH.-/,iw (Child's Ballads, I. 259). 
To speer at, to aim a question at ; inquire of. [Old Eng. 
anil Scotch.] 
speer' 2 t, An old form of spire 1 . 
speeret, An obsolete form of sphere. 
speerhawkt, [Appar. another form and use 
of sprrlttiirl,; xfiarlunck.] An old name of the 
hawkweed, Hieracium. Jiritten and Holland, 
Eng. Plant Names. 
speering (sper'ing), n. [Sc. also speiring; ver- 
bal n. of speer 1 , r.J A question; an inquiry. 
[Old Eng. and Scotch.] 
speett, v. An obsolete form of spit 1 . 
speightt, " [Early mod. E. also speght, specht, 
xpiglit; = D. sj>eeht, < G. specht, MHG. OHG. 
speltt (MHG. OHG. also spcch) > OF. espeehe, 
F. epeiche), a woodpecker; perhaps akin to L. 
picus, a woodpecker (see pie); otherwise con- 
nected with OHG. spehdtt, MHG. spehen, G. 
spahen, look, spy: see spy 1 .'] A woodpecker. 
[Prov. Eng.] 
Eue, walking forth about the Forrests, gathers 
Speights, Parrots, Peacocks, Estrich scattered feathers. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, ii., The Handy-Crafts. 
speir 1 , v. See speer 1 . 
speir'4, ". An obsolete form of sphere. 
speiranthy, . See spiranthy. 
Sptlerpts ruber. 
numerous broken black bands. S. bilineatw, a common 
species of the Northern States, haa a black line along each 
side of the back, and the belly yellow. S. ruber is of a 
bright-red color, more or less spotted with black, and is 
found in cold springs and brooks. S. belli is the largest ; 
it is plumbeous, with a double row of red spots on the 
hack, and inhabit* Mexico. 
[So called in "Spelin," 
< spe-, var. of spa, all (< s-, 
forming general, collective, and plural 
terms, + pa, every, < Gr. uof, every, all), + 
lin, < L. lingua = E. tongue.] An artificial 
linguistic system devised by Prof. Georg Bauer, 
of Agram in Croatia, in 1888, designed for a 
universal language. It is constructed on the 
same lines as Volapiik, but is of greater sim- 
plicity. See Volapiik. 
set with splints (= MD. spalcken, set with 
splints, fasten, support, prop, = Icel. spelkja, 
stuff (skins), = Sw. spjelka, split, splinter), < 
"spele, "spile, a splint, splinter : see spelk, n.] 
1. To set, as a broken bone, with a spelk or 
splint. Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.] 2. To use a 
spelk or rod in or upon ; fasten or strike with 
gonimium.] In bot. See gonidium, 3. 
speiss (spis), n. [< G. speisc, a metallic mix- 
ture, amalgam (speisige erze, ores mixed with 
cobalt and arsenic), a particular use of speise, 
food, meat, < MHG. spine, OHG. spisa, food, < 
Olt. It. spesa (ML. spesa, for spensa), expense, 
cost, < spendere, spend : see spenee, expense.] _ 
A compound, consisting chiefly of arsenic and 8pe l^ (spelk), n. *[< ME. spelke, < AS. *spelc, 
iron, but often containing nickel and cobalt, IJJJjJj (Somner, Lye) = MD. spalcke, D. spalk = 
obtained in smelting the complicated lead ores Ice i. spelkur, a splint, splinter, rod; prob. akin 
occurring near Freiberg in Saxony, and mother to spM ^ g pa ^i ) spall*, etc.] 1. A splinter of 
localities. wood ; a splint used in setting a broken bone. 
spek-boom (spek'bom), n. [S. African D., < Ualliwell. [Prov. Eng.] 2. A rod, stick, or 
spek, fat, lard (= E. specK*), + boom, tree (= sw it c h; especially, a small stick or rod-used in 
E. beam).] A South African plant. See For- thatching. [Prov. Eng.] 
tulacaria. spe lk ( 8pe ik), v. t. ' [Also assibilated spelch; < 
speke (spek), n. A dialectal variant of spoke 1 . ME.*speM;e,*sprf<*e, < AS. spelcean, spilcean 
spel 1 *. An old spelling of spell 1 , spell*. ^ ~SM- :-S- / ITT\ i-?.~. ...4. _^ 
spel' 2 (spel), . [D.swef, play: see speM 3 .] Play. 
Sooth play, quad prf, as the Flemyng seith. 
Chaucer, Prol. to Cook's Tale, 1. 33. 
[In Tyrwhitt's edition alone, apparently his own substitu- 
tion of the Dutch for its English equivalent play, which 
appears in all other editions.] 
spelaean, spelean (spe-le'an), a. t< L. spe- 
Iseum, < Gr. mt^/Uuov. a cave, cavern; cf. avfi- 
Awyf, a cave (> ult. E. spelunc), < cra-foc, a cave.] 
1. Of or pertaining to a cave or cavern; form- 
ing or formed by a cave; cavernous. Owen, 
Longman's Mag., Nov., 1882, p. 67. 2. Inhab- 
iting caves or caverns; cave-dwelling; caver- 
nicolous; troglodyte. Eraser's Mag. Alsospe- 
luncous. 
spelch (spelch), v. t. Same as spelk. 
speld (speld), n. [< ME. speld, a splinter, < AS. 
speld, a splinter (biernende speld, 'a burning 
splinter,' or simply speld, a torch), = D. speld, a 
pin, = MHG. spelte, a splinter, = Icel. speld { mod. 
speldi, a square tablet, spilda, a flake, slice, = 
Goth, spilda, a writing-tablet; from the root of 
spald 1 (var. speld): see spald 1 . Cf. Gael, spealt, 
a splinter. See spell*, spill 2 , in part variants 
of speld; and cf. spelk, spelt 2 .] A chip or splin- 
ter. See spall 1 , spill 2 . 
Manli as mijti men either mette other, 
& spacli the otheres spere in epeldes than wente. 
William of Palerne (E. E. T. S.), 1. 3392. 
speld, ('. A Scotch variant of spald 1 . 
speldert (spel'der), n. [< ME. 'spelder, spildur 
(= MLG. spelder = MHG. spelter, spilter), a 
splinter, dim. of speld.] A splinter. Pals- 
grave. 
The grete schafte that was longe, 
Alle to spildun hit spronge. 
Avowynge of King Arthur, xill. 6. (Halliwell.) 
spelder (spel'der), c. [< ME. spelderen, speldren, 
spell, < spelder, a splinter (used as a pointer; 
cf. fescue): see spelder,n.] To spell. Cath.Ang., 
p. 353; Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.] 
, pp. ."7"-"' 1 ''), 
tell, declare, relate, speak, discourse (K MD. 
sprl/rii, declare, explain, explain ill detail or 
point by point, spell, = OHG. s/nlliin, MJIG. 
sprllni, declare, relate, = Icel. spjalla, speak, 
talk, = Goth, spillon, tell, narrate), < x/>cl, a talc, 
storv: see xfiiin, ii. Cf. sp< '/-,'.] I. trims. 
If. To tell; relate; teach; disclose. 
It 's I have intill Paris been, 
And well my drift can tpeU. 
Youny Child During (Child's Ballads, IV. 267). 
2. To act as a spell upon; entrance; enthrall ; 
fascinate; charm. 3. To imbue with magic 
properties. 
This [hippoinaiiea], gathered . . . 
With noxious weeds, and spell'd with words of power, 
Dire stepdamt-B In the magic IKIW! infuse. 
Dryden, tr. of Virgil's Georgics, III. 445. 
Il.t intrans. To tell; tell a story; give an 
account. 
Xow of marschalle of halle wylle I spette, 
And what falle to hys otfyce now wylle y telle. 
Babees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 310. 
spell 2 (spel), >.; pret. and pp. spelled or spelt, 
ppr. spelling. [< late ME. spellen; a particular 
use of spell* , tell, appar. due to D. use: MD. 
spellen, declare, explain, explain in detail or 
point by point, spell, D. spellen, spell ; cf. OF. 
espeller, espeler, declare, spell, F. epeler, spell, 
= Pr. espelar, espelhar, declare (< G. or D.) : see 
spell* . The word is in part confused, as the 
var. speal also indicates, with spell*, speld 1 , 
spelder, a splinter, because a splinter of wood 
was used as a pointer to assist in spelling 
words: see spell*, and cf. spelder, v., spell.] I. 
(raw*. 1. To tell or set forth letter by letter; 
set down letter by letter; tell the letters of; 
form by or in letters. 
Spellyn (lettersji Sillabico. Prompt. Pan., p. 468. 
A few commonplace and m-spelled letters, a few wise or 
witty words, are all the direct record she has left of her- 
self. The Century, XL. 49. 
2. To read letter by letter, or with laborious ef- 
fort ; hence, to discover by careful study ; make 
out point by point : often with out or orer. 
I will sit on this fooUtool at thy feet, that I may spell 
over thy splendour, and learn for the first time how princes 
are attired. Scott, Kenilworth, vii. 
He was a perfect specimen of the Trullibers of old ; he 
smoked, hunted, drank beer at his door with his grooms 
and dogs, and spelled over the county paper on Sundays. 
Sydney Smith, in Lady Holland, vil. 
3. To constitute, as letters constitute a word; 
make up. 
The Saxon heptarchy, when seven kings put together 
did spell but one in effect. Fuller. 
To spell backward, to repeat or arrange the letters of 
in reverse order ; begin with the last letter of ; hence, to 
understand or explain in an exactly contrary sense ; turn 
inside out ; reverse the character or intention of. 
I never yet saw man, 
How wise, how noble, young, how rarely featured, 
But she would spell him backward. 
Shale., Much Ado, ill. 1. 61. 
To spell baker, to do something difficult : supposed to 
refer to baker as one of the first words met by children in 
passing from the " easy " monosyllables to the " hard " dis- 
syllables in the old spelling-books. [Old and colloq., U. S.] 
If an old man will marry a young wife, 
Why then why then why then he must spell Baker. 
Longfelloy, Giles Corey, ii. 1. 
II. intrans. 1. To form words with the prop- 
er letters, in either reading or writing ; repeat 
or set down the letters of words. 
O, she knew well 
Thy love did read by rote and could not spell. 
Shale., R. and J., ii. 3. 8& 
2. To make a study ; engage in careful contem- 
plation of something. [Poetical and rare.] 
Where I may sit and rightly spell 
Of every star that heaven doth shew, 
And every herb that sins the dew. 
MMon, II Penseroso, 1. 170. 
spell 3 (spel), v. t. [ME. spelen, spelien, < AS. 
spelian, act in one's stead, take_one's place, also 
t, a saying, tale, story, history, narrative, 
e, also speech, discourse, command, teach- 
ing, doctrine, = OS. spel (spell-) = OHG. spel 
(spell-), a tale, narrative, = Icel. spjall, a say- 
ing, saw, pi. spjoll, words, tidings, = Goth, spill, 
a tale, fable, myth; root unknown. The word 
is found in many AS. and ME. compounds, of 
which the principal ones are represented by 
by <spell and gospel. Cf. spell*, v.] If. A tale ; 
story; narrative. 
Herkneth to my spette. Chaucer, Sir Thopas, 1. 183. 
2f. Speech ; word of mouth ; direct address. 
An ax ... hoge & vn-mete, 
A spetos sparthe to expoun [describe] in spclle quo-so myjt. 
Sir Qawayne and the Oreen Knight (E. E. T. S.), I. 209. 
3. A charm consisting of some words of sup- 
posed occult power ; any form of words, whether - f - - 
written or spoken, supposed to be endowed with rarely sp t l,an, play, jest = OS. sp'hn pay, 
magical virtues ; an incantation ; hence, any dance, = D. spelen = MLG. LG. spele,,, play, 
ill. 11 n~ game, act, move, sparkle, allude, ,= OHG. sptlon, 
MHG. xpiln, G. spieien = Icel. spila. play, spend, 
play at cards, = Sw. spela Dan. spille , act a 
part, move, sparkle, play, gamble ; from a noun 
not recorded in AS., but appearing as OS. spil, 
play (of weapons), = MD. D. spel = MLG. pil, 
LG. spile, play, music, performance, cards, = 
OHG. MHG. spil, G. spiel, play, game ; root un- 
known.] To take the place of (another person) 
temporarily in doing something; take turns 
with ; relieve for a time; give a rest to. 
Sometimes there are two ostensible boilers [slaves in 
charge of sugar-boiling] to spell and relieve one another. 
means or cause of enchantment, literally or fig- 
uratively ; a magical or an enthralling charm ; 
a condition of enchantment; fascination: as, 
to cast a spell over a person ; to be under a spell, 
or bound by a spell. 
Spell is a kinde of verse or charme, that in elder tymes 
they used often to say over every thing that they would 
have preserved, as the NightspeJ f or theeves, and the wood- 
spell. And herehence, I thinke, is named the gospel, as it 
were Gods spell, or worde. And so sayth Chaucer. 
Spenser, Shep. Cal., March, Glosse. 
The running stream dissolved the spell, 
And his own elvish shape he took. 
Scott, L. of L M., iii. 13. 
