spelling

English Online Dictionary. What means spelling‎? What does spelling mean?

English

Etymology

1400s, from spell (verb) +‎ -ing.

Pronunciation

• (Canada, General American, Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈspɛlɪŋ/
• Hyphenation: spell‧ing
• Rhymes: -ɛlɪŋ

Verb

spelling

1. present participle and gerund of spell
   • 2006, Wm. Shakespeare, Ann Thompson and Neil Taylor, eds., Hamlet, London: Arden Shakespeare:

     [p 88] A persuasive theory about the authority of the quarto or Folio texts might shed light on how Shakespeare actually spelt these names in a particular manuscript, but, since Shakespeare seemed capable of spelling his own name differently on different occasions, how reliable a guide would such evidence be?

Noun

spelling (countable and uncountable, plural spellings)

1. (uncountable) The act, practice, ability, or subject of forming words with letters, or of reading the letters of words; orthography.
2. (uncountable) The manner of spelling of words; correct spelling.
3. (countable) A specific spelling of a word.
   • 2006, Wm. Shakespeare, Ann Thompson and Neil Taylor, eds., Hamlet, London: Arden Shakespeare:

     [p 253] *excellent Q2’s ‘extent’ is generally dismissed as an error, probably a mis-reading of ‘exlent’, a common spelling at this time.

     [p 269] reverend The spellings ‘reuerent’ (Q2) and ‘Reuerend’ (F) were interchangeable at this time.

     [p 466] Guildensterne and Rosincrance are F’s consistent spellings.

4. (US, rare, dated, countable or uncountable) A spelling test or spelling bee.
   • 1860, Oscar Lawrence Jackson, The Colonel's Diary: Journals Kept Before and During the Civil War [1922], Sharon, Penn., p 23:

     The boys were anxious for a spelling in the evening but I said no.
5. (music) A choice of notation among enharmonic equivalents for the same pitch.

Hypernyms

• (subject): orthography (precisely hypernymous but loosely synonymous)

Derived terms

Collocations

Translations

Derived terms

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch spelling, from Middle Dutch spellinge. Equivalent to spel +‎ -ing.

Noun

spelling (plural spellings or spellinge)

1. spelling

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch spellinge. Equivalent to spellen +‎ -ing.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈspɛ.lɪŋ/
• Hyphenation: spel‧ling
• Rhymes: -ɛlɪŋ

Noun

spelling f (plural spellingen, diminutive spellinkje n)

1. spelling

   Synonym: schrijfwijze

Derived terms

Descendants

• Afrikaans: spelling

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from English spelling.

Noun

spelling m (invariable)

1. spelling (specific spelling of a word)

   Synonym: compitazione