spelling

verb

1. (form-of, gerund, participle, present)present participle and gerund of spell

   “[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

1. (uncountable)The act, practice, ability, or subject of forming words with letters, or of reading the letters of words; orthography.

   “For the practical use of spelling comes in writing.”

   “Spelling was invented by man and, like other human inventions, is capable of development and improvement by man in the direction of simplicity, economy, and efficiency.”

   “I knew that Kriciak, the inspector who was supervising me for the Marshals Service, was going to go nuts when I told him that I wanted to allow Landon to participate in soccer and spelling.”

2. (uncountable)The manner of spelling of words; correct spelling.

   “Because Elizabethan spelling was fluid, editors feel free to ‘modernize’ (correct) the spelling in the quartos and the Folio. But how is one to spell Rosencratz or Guildenstern, where the spelling varies, not only from text to text, but even within texts?”

3. (countable)A specific spelling of a word.

   “[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, countable, dated, rare, uncountable)A spelling test or spelling bee.

   “The boys were anxious for a spelling in the evening but I said no.”

   “How her face ust to look, in the twilight, / As I tuck her to spellin’; and she / Kep’ a-hummin’ that song ’tel I ast her, / Pine-blank, ef she ever missed me!”

   “So we'd sit with these girls during school hours, and we told them, if they'd slip off, that we'd get away, and we'd go to [the school] to a spelling.”

5. (countable, uncountable)A choice of notation among enharmonic equivalents for the same pitch.

   “The spelling of a pitch is strongly influenced by its harmonic and melodic context.”