spell

«spell» in Mova's judaism dictionary: to say or write its letters in the right order — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

verb (spell, spells, spelt or spelled, spelling); noun (a spell, spells)

meaning for a pupil

1) To spell a word is to say or write its letters in the right order. tree →

2) (noun) A spell is a set of magic words that makes something happen in stories. tree →

3) (noun) A short period of time: a spell of sunny weather. tree →

4) (verb) To spell something out is to explain it very clearly; "spell trouble" means to be a sign that something bad will happen. tree →

sense in the lessons

In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: Here it means a magic charm, such as a snake charmer's words. The Bible does not treat such magic as having real power over God. Interpretation: The Torah forbids sorcery and charming, and this verse is read as showing how stubborn the wicked are, deaf even to the best charmer. In the primary lessons: Used at school: spelling tests, "How do you spell...?". In stories: witches and wizards cast spells. In weather reports: "a cold spell", "a dry spell". Phrases: "cast a spell", "under a spell", "spell out".

examples

• Which hearkeneth not to the voice of charmers, or of the most cunning binder of spells. (Writings PSA.58.6, JPS 1917) tree →
• How do you spell "necessary"? tree →
• Can you spell your name for me? tree →
• The witch cast a spell on the prince. tree →
• The princess was under a spell. tree →
• We had a spell of warm weather. tree →
• Dark clouds spell trouble for the picnic. tree →
• Let me spell it out for you. tree →
• "How can I break this spell?" said their sister. tree →

note

Past: "spelt" (UK) or "spelled" (UK and US). Noun "spelling" is about letters; "a spell" in stories is magic. Homonym: one spelling, several unrelated meanings.

In the corpora

• Which hearkeneth not to the voice of charmers, or of the most cunning binder of spells.
• Sometimes grown-ups close a door, lower their voices or spell out words so children won't understand.
• "Necessary" is spelled with one c and a double s.
• The Badger is closer to life: real badgers dig huge old homes called setts and stay underground through cold spells.
• Think of the elements as the letters of an alphabet: about a hundred letters spell out every substance in the world.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «spell» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.