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spell out

 - 5 dictionary results
Spells
Warning: My Spell not Reversible. Use Me as a Last Resort Only.
AncientBlackMagic.com

spell

1  [spel] verb, spelled or spelt, spell⋅ing.
Use spell out in a Sentence
–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.
—Verb phrases
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

Related forms:
spell⋅a⋅ble, adjective

Synonyms:
5. foretell, portend, mean, promise.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Spells
Warning: My Spell not Reversible. Use Me as a Last Resort Only.
AncientBlackMagic.com
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.1)
"name the letters of," O.E. spellian "to tell, speak," infl. by O.Fr. espeller "declare, spell," from Frank. *spellon "to tell;" both O.E. and Frank. from P.Gmc. *spellan (cf. O.H.G. spellon "to tell," O.N. spjalla, Goth. spillon "to talk, tell"), from PIE *spel- "to say aloud, recite." Meaning "write or say the letters of a word" is c.1400, from notion of "read letter by letter, read with difficulty" (c.1300). Spell out "explain step-by-step" is first recorded 1940, Amer.Eng. Spelling bee is from 1878 (earlier simply spelling, 1860).
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>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Idioms & Phrases

spell out

  1. Make plain, clarify, as in We asked her to spell out her objectives. [c. 1940]

  2. Read slowly and laboriously, as in He was only six but he managed to spell out the instructions. [Early 1800s]

  3. Puzzle out, manage to understand with some effort, as in It took years before anyone could spell out the inscriptions on the Rosetta Stone. [Late 1600s] All three usages transfer spell in the sense of "proceed letter by letter."

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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