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spells down

 - 2 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.
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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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