spell

noun
spĕl

Words or a formula supposed to have magical powers.

Example

“He cast a spell to cure warts.”

Other meanings

A magical effect or influence induced by an incantation or formula.
“under a spell”
A shift (of work); a set of workers responsible for a specific turn of labour.

Example sentences

“Let me try a magic spell.”
Tatoeba · shekitten · CC0
“You're going to have to spell it out for me.”
Tatoeba · ddnktr · CC0
“I can't even spell it.”
Tatoeba · Miktsoanit · CC0

Word history

From Old English "spell" (news, story).

Where this comes from

This definition is adapted from “spell” on Wiktionary, by its contributors; example sentences are from Tatoeba, credited to their authors above, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.