spelt
/ˈspɛlt/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.18 in modern English
7
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A grain, considered either a subspecies of wheat, Triticum aestivum subsp. spelta, or a separate species Triticum spelta or Triticum dicoccon.
Uncountable
noun
Example Sentences
- "Yes, yes; he teaches boys the hornbook. What is a, b, spelt / backward with the horn on his head?"
- "[H]alfe an houre after give him a pottell of Oates and a pinte of ſpelt Beanes, then a ſmall bottel of Hay: […]"
- "The next day very early as may be, firſt feed, then dreſſe, after cloath and ſaddle, then ayre him abroad, and water him as hath been before ſhewed, after bring him home, and feed him with oats, ſpelt beans, and bread, as was laſt of all declared, onely very little Hay, […]"
- "Theſe loaves baked and cooled, after three days cut off the Cruſt, and with Oats well dryed and rubbed between your hands, being alſo winnowed and ſifted, and a quantity of the beſt ſpelt Beans; […]"
- "In Summer, in Choleric Fevers eſpecially, let him feed upon things effectually cold, as Vine-buds, Willow-leaves, Pond-reeds, Dog-graſs, Endive and Lettuce; in the Winter, Hay ſprinkl’d with Honey, Spelt Beans, and Oates, never giving ’em either Barly or Straw in Fevers, which will but harden the dung, and make it difficult to paſs through the Bowels."
- "spelted Beans"
Etymology
From Late Middle English spelde (past tense) and spelled, ispeled, ispelled (past participles). The past tense reflects an early Middle English syncopation of spellede, while the past participle remained largely disyllabic until the general Early Modern English reduction of the -ed suffix. In both cases, once the medial vowel was lost, the final alveolar stop underwent phonetic devoicing after the sonorant /l/, resulting in the modern -t spelling. Compare dwelt, felt, and smelt. By surface analysis, spell + -t.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: spelde, spelt, spelta, *spelta, *spiltaz
Usage
- British usage
- Uncountable
- Obsolete
- Transitive verb