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spell down

 - 4 dictionary results

spell

1[spel] verb, spelled or spelt, spell⋅ing.
–verb (used with object)
1. to name, write, or otherwise give the letters, in order, of (a word, syllable, etc.): Did I spell your name right?
2. (of letters) to form (a word, syllable, etc.): The letters spelled a rather rude word.
3. to read letter by letter or with difficulty (often fol. by out): She painfully spelled out the message.
4. to discern or find, as if by reading or study (often fol. by out).
5. to signify; amount to: This delay spells disaster for us.
–verb (used without object)
6. to name, write, or give the letters of words, syllables, etc.: He spells poorly.
7. to express words by letters, esp. correctly.
8. spell down, to outspell others in a spelling match.
9. spell out,
a. to explain something explicitly, so that the meaning is unmistakable: Must I spell it out for you?
b. to write out in full or enumerate the letters of which a word is composed: The title “Ph.D.” is seldom spelled out.

Origin:
1250–1300; ME spellen < OF espeller < Gmc; cf. OE spellian to talk, announce (deriv. of spell spell 2 ), OHG -spellōn, ON spjalla, Goth spillōn


spell⋅a⋅ble, adjective


5. foretell, portend, mean, promise.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To spell down
spell 1   (spěl)   
v.   spelled or spelt (spělt), spell·ing, spells

v.   tr.
  1. To name or write in order the letters constituting (a word or part of a word).

  2. To constitute the letters of (a word): These letters spell animal.

  3. To add up to; signify: Their unwise investment could spell financial ruin.

v.   intr.
To form words by means of letters.
Phrasal Verb(s):
spell downTo defeat in a spelling bee.
spell out
  1. To make explicit and clear: asked him to spell out his objectives.

  2. To name or write in order the letters that constitute (a word or part of a word): spelled out my name.


[Middle English spellen, to read letter by letter, from Old French espeller, of Germanic origin.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

spell  (v.2)
"work in place of (another)," O.E. spelian "to take the place of," related to gespelia "substitute," of uncertain origin. Perhaps related to spilian "to play" (see spiel). The noun meaning "indefinite period of time" first recorded 1706.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: spell
Pronunciation: 'spel
Function: noun
: a period of bodily or mental distress or disorder spell of coughing> spells>
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