spell 
When one is obliged to be spelled for the purpose of nat- 
ural rest, he should leave his injunctions to a judicious 
negro. T. Rouyhley, Jamaica Planters' Guide (1823), p. 340. 
Mrs. Savor kept her seat beside Annie. She said. "Don't 
you want I should spell you a little while, Miss Killmrn?" 
Hotcells, Annie Kilburu, xvi. 
spell 3 (spel), . [< spellS, v.] 
work or duty in place of another; an interval 
of relief by another person; an exchange of 
5816 
spencer-mast 
tre, spelt ; < LL. spelta, spelt.] A kind of wheat 
commonly known as Triticum Spelta, but be- 
lieved to be a race of the common wheat, Tri- 
tici/iu Ktitirinti ( T. nilgare). Spelt is marked by the 
fragile rachis of the spike, which easily breaks up at the 
2. A book containing exercises or instructions 
in spelling ; a spelling-book. 
speller 3 (spel'er), . [< spell* + -er 1 .] A 
branch shooting out from the crown of a deer's 
antler. See cut under Dama. Cotgnin-. __, , r _ 
1 A turn of Spellful (spel'ful), a. [< spellt + -/;.] Full J olllt8 > , and y the grains being adherent to the chart. It 
of snplls or charms- tascinatinir- ahsm-hinrr S as cultlvated ''y the Swiss lake-dwellers, by the ancient 
8 P e J % . m S- Egyptians, and throughout the Roman umpire, and is still 
Hoole, tr. of Orlando I- urioso, xv. [Rare.] grown in the colder mountainous regions of Europe and 
elsewhere. It makes a very fine flour, used especially for 
pastry-making, but the grain requires special machinery 
for grinding. 
ipelt-t (spelt), H. [< ME. spelt; a var. of speld.] 
A splinter, splint, or strip; a spell or spill. 
The spekes was splentide alle with speltis of silver, 
The space of a spere lenghespringundc fulle faire. 
Morte Arthure (E. E. T. S.), L 3265. 
work and rest: as, to take one's regular spell; spelling 1 ! (spel'ing), n. [< ME. upelliiigi; *//- 
to work the pumps by spells, lunge, spelling, spellyng, recital, < AS. spelluny, 
Their toyl is so extreame as they can not endure it above narration verbal n . of spellian, tell, declare : 
foure houres in a day, but are succeeded by spels. see spell 1 .] A story; a relation; a tale. 
Caretc, Survey of Cornwall, fol. 11. As we telle yn owre spellyng, 
A poor old negro, whose woolly head was turned to gray, Falsenes come never to gode endyng. 
though scarcely able to move, begged to be taken in, and US. Cantab, ft. ii. 38, f. 125. (Ualliwell.) 
offered to give me a spell when I became tired. 
B. Ball, Travels in ~ 
Hence 2. A continuous course 
ment in work or duty; a turn of occupation be 
tween periods of rest ; a bout. 
We read that a working day [in Holland] of thirteen or 
fourteen hours is usual ; a spell of eighteen or more hours 
is not uncommon. The Academy, July 27, 1889, p. 54. 
3. An interval of rest or relaxation; a turn or 
period of relief from work; a resting-time. 
A halt was made for the purpose of giving the horses a 
spell and having a pot of tea. 
A. C. Grant, Bush Life in Queensland, I. 4-2. 
In the warm noon spell 
Twas good to hear him tell 
Of the great September blow. 
R. W. Gilder, Building of the Chimney. 
4. Any interval of time within definite limits ; 
an unbroken term or period. 
Nothing new has happened in this quarter since my 
last, except the setting in of a severe spell of cold wea- 
ther and a considerable fall of snow. 
Washington, To J. Keed, Dec. 25, 1775. 
After a grievous spell of eighteen months on board the 
French galleys. Jt. W. Dixon, Hist Church of Eng., xix. 
5. A short period, indefinitely; an odd or oc- 
casional interval ; an uncertain term ; a while. 
[Colloq.] 
No, I hain't got a girl now. I had one a spell, but I'd 
rather do my own work. 
C. D. Warner, Their Pilgrimage, p. 145. 
Why don't ye come and rest a spell with me, and to-mor- 
rer ye kin go on ef ye like? Harper's Mag., LXXX. 349. 
. . . , spelling (< ,,- f 
stabe, a letter: see under book); Sw. slafning DreaK - 
= Dan. stavning, spelling (see staff, stave) ; and Feed Beese with oats, spelted beans. 
cf . orthography.] 1 . The act of one who spells ; Mortimer, Husbandry. 
the manner of forming words with letters ; or spelt 3 (spelt). A preterit and past participle of 
thography. spelll. 
SpeUynge, sillabicacio. Prompt. Pan., p. 488. Spelter (spel'ter), n. [Not found in ME., and 
Our common spelling is often an untrustworthy guide P TO ^>- of LG. origin : LG. Spialter, pewter, = 
to etymology. J. Hadley, Essays, p. 356. MD. speauter, D. spiauter = G. Sw. Dan. spiau- 
To prepare the way for such a change [a reform in spell- &*> zinc, bell-metal; cf. OF. piautre, peutre, 
ing] the first step is to break down, by the combined influ- peautre, espeautre = Sp. Pg. peltre = It. peltro 
(ML. peutrum, pestrum), pewter: see pewter. 
The Rom. forms are from Teut., but have ap- 
par. in turn influenced the Teut. forms.] Zinc : 
now used only in commerce. 
ence of enlightened scholars and of practical educators, 
the immense and stubborn prejudice which regards the 
established modes of spelling almost as constituting the 
language, as having a sacred character, as in themselves 
preferable to others. All agitation and all definite propo- 
sals of reform are to be welcomed so far as they work in -, , 
this direction. Proe. Amer. Philol. Assoc , VII. 35 Not onlv tnose metalline corpuscles that were Just over 
philological bodies have uniformly denounced it as a mon- y ' ' ialty ' **** 
strousabsurdlty.bothfromapractlcalandascientiflcpoint Spelter solder, hard solder. Seesolder. 
of view. H. Sweet, Handbook of Phonetics, p. 201. Spelter (spel'ter), V. t. [< spelter, .] To sol- 
2. A collocation of letters representing a word der witn 8 P el ter solder, or hard solder. Brass- 
a written word as spelled in a particular way. Founders' Manual, p. 59. 
Our present spelling is in many particulars a far from SpelunCt, Spelunkt (spe-lungk'), )!. [< ME. spe- 
trustwprthy guide in etymology, and often, indeed, en- lunk, spelonke, spelunc = D. spelonk, < OF. spe- 
6. A bad turn; an uncomfortable time ; a pe- guage. 
riod of personal ailment or ill feeling. ' 
loq., U. S.] 
tirely falsifies history. Such spelling! as Island, author, 
delight, sovereign, require only to be mentioned, and there 
are hundreds of others involving equally gross blunders, 
many of which have actually corrupted the spoken Ian- 
pe- guage. H. Sweet, Handbook of Phonetics, p. 200. 
[Col- Phonetic spelling. See phonetic.^- Spelling reform 
the improvement by regulation and simplification of the 
conventional orthography of a language, specifically of the 
English language; the proposed simplification of Eng- 
lish orthography. The spelling of all languages having 
a recorded history tends to lag behind the changes of 
Wal, arter all, we sot out, and Hepsy, she got clear beat 
out ; and when Hepsy does get beat out she has spells, and 
she goes on awful, and they last day arter day. 
H. B. Stowe, Oldtown, p. 171. -. , . - , = 
,,. , ., pronunciation, and in time a reform becomes necessary. 
Spell* (spel), n. [Also spill, speal, formerly In English, since the gradual fixation of the spelling after 
ation of spelling and 
, and numerous pro- 
ter, or splint. [Prov. Eng. and Scotch.] 
lonqtie, F. spetonque = Pr. spelunca = Sp. Pg. es- 
pelunca = It. spelonca, < L. spelunca, < Gr. omj. 
Avyf (ovi/fayy-), a cave, cavern, < amof, a cave.] 
A cave ; a cavern ; a vault. 
Men bi hem-selue, 
In spekes and In spelonkes selden speken togideres. 
Piers Plovman(B), xv. 270. 
And parte of the same stone lieth ther yett now In the 
same vttermost Spelmtlc. 
Torlnngtan, Diarie of Eng. Travell, p. 40. 
[< spelunc + 
Cf. E. spell or spill, originally a chip of wood for light- 
ing a candle. 
William of Palerne (E. E. T. S.), Gloss., p. 305. 
2. In the game of nur-and-spell, the steel spring 
by which the nur is thrown into the air. 3. 
One of the transverse pieces at the bottom of a 
chair which strengthen and keep together the 
legs. Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.] 
spellable (spel'a-bl), a. [< spelP + -able.'] 
Capable of being spelled, or represented in 
speluncous (spe-lung'kus), a. 
-ous.] Same as spelsean, 2. 
made. ThVpresent spent, v. t. [ME. spennen (= MHG. spennen = 
has arisen out of the Icel. spenna), a secondary form of AS. span- 
nan, span : see span 1 . Cf . i_ 
parative philology, which is alao'based on phonetfcs. "pro- K ras Pi span. 
posals for a gradual reform in spelling have been put forth Bifore that spot my honde I spenn[e]d. 
jointly by the American Philological Association and the Alliterative Pot 
Spelling ReformVssoci'aUon" 'Amended speUings have SpenCOt, Spencer 1 ?. See spensc, Spenser. 
been accepted to some extent by various periodicals, and Spencer* (spen'ser), n. [Named after Earl 
are admitted, less freely, into recent books. Movements Spencer (1782-1845). The surname is derived 
from spencer 1 , spenser.'] 1 . A man's outer gar- 
ment or overcoat so short that the skirts of the 
body-coat worn under it were seen : a fashion 
introduced about 1800. 2. A woman's gar- 
ment introduced a year or two later, and made 
in direct imitation of the above. It also was short, 
for spelling reform exist also in France, Germany, Den- 
mark, and other countries. A spelling reform has been 
accomplished in Dutch, Spanish, and other tongues and 
~-r 6 =F ", "* J^CBCJIUCU , to some extent by government action in Germany 
letters: as, some birds utter spellable notes spelling-bee (spel ing-be), . Same as spelhnij- 
Carlt/le, Misc., IV. 69. (Davits.) [Rare.] match. 
spellbind (spel'bind),'.t [A back-formation spelling-book (spel'ing-buk), n. A book from indir 
after spellbound; < spell 1 + bind.] To bind wl V, c ; h chlld reii are taught to spell. and fo: 
T... _ ** i_ ,,-* , , -, J - Wluvl cmAllivifr_TnQ+/tli . , ...I ' I M..- ..... ,.l. i A ~~ * * the Wa 
, 
rmed a kind of over-jacket, reaching a little below 
for ?- and - 
malnmast 
ft t t' f 
sail set abaft the foremast and 
trvsai1 - 
* 
W.IIU OJ/C.K ,111, > BUCK- -r UtltU.I 1O DinO _ ,-,. . , , ,/~ i*> the uraiat 
by or as if by a spell; hold under mental con- Spelling-match (spel ing-mach), n. A contest ^JS 
trol or restraint ; fascinate [Recent ] for superiority m spelling between two or more B P el 
Now the poor French word "Qu 1 en dira t^n?" P 6 0118 or parties. A formal spelling-match is usual- 
spellbinds us all. Carlyle, Essays (J. P. F. Richter again). / of persons chosen by two leaders. 
The other, in his speech about the banner, retires, and the victory belongs to the side that has the 
larger number left at the close. Also called spelling-bee. 
Ualleck, Fanny. speUkent (spel'ken), ii. [Also speelken ; < D Spencerian (spen-se'ri-an), a. [< Spencer (see 
spell-bone (spel'bon), . [< spem + bone 1 .] spel, play (see spellS) + E. ken&, a resort.] A del.) + -.] Pertaining or relating to the Eng- 
Ihe small bone of the leg; the fibula. See playhouse; a theater. [Low slang ] hsh philosopher Herbert Spencer (born 1820), 
phrases under peroneal. Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.] Who in a row like Tom could lead the van T characteristic of his philosophical system, 
spellbound (spel bound), a. Bound by or as if Booze in the ken, or at the speUken hustle? ee Spencenanism. 
by a spell ; entranced ; rapt ; fascinated. Byron, Don Juan, xi. 19. Spencerianism (spen-se'ri-an-izm), n. The 
My dear mother stood gazing at him, spellbound by his Spell-stopped (spel'stopt), a. Stopped by a philosophy of Herbert Spencer, called by him 
eloquence. K. D. Blackmore, Lorna Doone, Ii. spell or spells; spellbound. Shak., Tempest 
speller 1 ! (spel'er), n. [< ME. spellers; < spell 1 v. 1. 61. 
+ -eri.] A speaker or talker ; atelier; a nar- spell-work(spel'werk), n. That which is work- 
ra tor. ed by spells or charms: power of magic; en- 
Speke we of tho spelleres bolde, chantment. Moore, Lalla Rookh. 
aDeZr^^npr^Tt^'rVT^M'^' ^' Hta f p) 8pelt in fspe'lt),^ ame [< a Mlf / "^ (not found), < 
S MD le D. i^K'speller/f ^|- + S ^?T ( ' = AS = *"'=- * ^ = **&* ^ = HG ' 
the synthetic philosophy . Like almost all the an- 
cient and a considerable part of the modern philosophical 
systems, it is a philosophy of evolution ; but it differs 
from most of these in reducing evolution to the rank of a 
mere secondary principle, and in making the immutable 
law of mechanics the sole fundamental one. Spencer has 
formally stated his philosophy in sixteen propositions, 
which concern the relations of evolution and dissolution. 
These are of a special and detailed character, so that he 
does not countenance the claim made for him of the princi- 
' His sixteenth proposition states 
ini' ,t 11 ' * Sp I' Y-P e " 2 + -or 1 .] 1. spelta, spelza, spelzo, MHG. svelte, spelze, G. Pie of evolution itself. His sixteenth propositioi 
One who spells, as in school ; a person skilled spelt, spelz, spelt ; cf . G. spelze, chaff, shell beard that u ? de , r the se " 9 ! b ' e <PP>rances which the u 
m spelling. ./ ' J ' t *'. T/ ,!" ;* <5 presents to us, and " transcending human knowli 
<?. MM*. ?, ?> ' = lt- 32S** 1 ' s P elta = Sp. Pg. an unknown and unknowable power." 
Prompt. Pan., p. 468. espelta = Pr. espeuta = OF. espiavtre, F. epeau- spencer-mast (spen'ser-nYast), . See mast 1 . 
Spellare, sillabicator. 
Diverse 
ledge, is 
