Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “spell” come from?

spell (Middle English) comes from Old English spell, from Proto-Germanic spellą, from Proto-Indo-European (s)pel- — to split in two, split in half; to speak with a...

Ancestry of “spell”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishspellnews; story
2Proto-Germanicspelląnews, message; tale, story
3Proto-Indo-European(s)pel-to split in two, split in half; to speak with a...

Words derived from “spell”

  • spell
  • spelling
  • spelt
  • spellbound
  • misspelling
  • spellbinding
  • speller
  • misspell
  • misspelt
  • fingerspelling
  • spellbook
  • spellcaster
  • spellout
  • spellbinder
  • spellwork
  • counterspell
  • spellcraft
  • spellcasting
  • fingerspell
  • spellbind
  • unspellable
  • bespell
  • spellbindingly
  • spellingly
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)pel- →