Spell

n. [See SPELL, v. t.] 1. The relief of one person by another in any piece of work; a turn of work; a change; as, a spell at the pumps. Their toil is so extreme that they can not endure it above four hours in a day, but are succeeded by spells. Carew.

2. A gratuitous helping forward of another’s work; as, a wood-spell. [U. S.]
3. A short period; a brief time; a little while; a season; as, a spell of warm weather.

[A-S. spell, history, tale, speech, a magic charm or song, O. Sax. & O. H. Ger. spel, spil, Icel. spiall, conversation, Goth. spill.]

1. A story; a tale. [Obs.] Chaucer.
2. A verse or phrase repeated for its magical power; hence, any charm.

Start not; her actions shall be holy; You hear my spell is lawful. Shak. Begin, begin; the mystic spell prepare. Milton.

[imp. & p. p. SPELLED, OR SPELT; p. pr. & vb. n. SPELLING.] [A-S. spellian, M. H. Ger. & D. spellen, Goth. spillon, to relate, narrate.]

1. To tell; to relate; to teach. [Obs.] Wotton.
2. To discover by characters or marks; to read; — with out; as, to spell out the sense of an author.

A rude, unwritten blank, sent into the world only to read and spell out a God in the works of creation. South.

3. To tell or name the letters of, as a word; to enumerate in order, as letters.
4. To write or print with the proper letters; to form, as words, by correct orthography.

The word “satire” ought to be spelled with i, and not with y. Dryden. 5. To charm; to fascinate; to bewitch. “Spelled with words of power.” Dryden. He was much spelled with Eleanor Talbot. Sir G. Buck. 6. To constitute; to measure. [Obs. and rare.] The Saxon heptarchy, when seven kings put together did spell but one in effect. Fuller.