1. (n.) A spelk, or splinter.

2. (v. t.) To supply the place of for a time; to take the turn of, at work; to relieve; as, to spell the helmsman.

3. (n.) The relief of one person by another in any piece of work or watching; also, a turn at work which is carried on by one person or gang relieving another; as, a spell at the pumps; a spell at the masthead.

4. (n.) The time during which one person or gang works until relieved; hence, any relatively short period of time, whether a few hours, days, or weeks.

5. (n.) One of two or more persons or gangs who work by spells.

6. (n.) A gratuitous helping forward of another's work; as, a logging spell.

7. (n.) A story; a tale.

8. (n.) A stanza, verse, or phrase supposed to be endowed with magical power; an incantation; hence, any charm.

9. (v. t.) To tell; to relate; to teach.

10. (v. t.) To put under the influence of a spell; to affect by a spell; to bewitch; to fascinate; to charm.

11. (v. t.) To constitute; to measure.

12. (v. t.) To tell or name in their proper order letters of, as a word; to write or print in order the letters of, esp. the proper letters; to form, as words, by correct orthography.

13. (v. t.) To discover by characters or marks; to read with difficulty; -- usually with out; as, to spell out the sense of an author; to spell out a verse in the Bible.

14. (v. i.) To form words with letters, esp. with the proper letters, either orally or in writing.

15. (v. i.) To study by noting characters; to gain knowledge or learn the meaning of anything, by study.

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