Re: irregularities
| From: | Tommie L Powell <tommiepowell@...> |
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| Date: | Tuesday, June 12, 2001, 5:23 |
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On Mon, 11 Jun 2001 David Peterson wrote:
[responding to this from me:]
< <In my dialect, I'd use "spelt" in reference to writing, but I'd
use "spelled" to mean "temporarily took the place of" (as in "I
spelled her at the receptionist desk while she took a break") >>
>
> <:O WHAT?!?! I could've never even dreamed up such a word
in my life! "Spelled...?" Like, from "take a spell", or "a resting
spell"?
No. Since you seemed surprised, I checked my dictionary (titled
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language) and found
this there (under the third entry for "spell"):
It comes from Middle English "spelen" (meaning "to relieve at work"),
which came from Old English "spelian" (meaning "to substitute").
--Tommie