spelling

Etymology

1400s, from spell (verb) + -ing.

verb

1. 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? 2006, Wm. Shakespeare, Ann Thompson and Neil Taylor, eds., Hamlet, London: Arden Shakespeare

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. 1904, Andrew Dickson White, Autobiography of Andrew Dickson White, page 43
   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. 1920, Henry Gallup Paine, Handbook of Simplified Spelling, New York: Simplified Spelling Board, page 1
   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. 2001, w: Stephen White, The Program, New York: Dell, page 66
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? 2006, William Shakespeare, edited by Ann Thompson and Neil Taylor, Hamlet, London: Arden Shakespeare, page 88
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. 2006, Wm. Shakespeare, Ann Thompson and Neil Taylor, eds., Hamlet, London: Arden Shakespeare
4. (US, rare, dated, countable or uncountable) A spelling test or spelling bee.
   The boys were anxious for a spelling in the evening but I said no. 1860, Oscar Lawrence Jackson, The Colonel's Diary: Journals Kept Before and During the Civil War [1922], Sharon, Penn., p 23
   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! 1889, James Whitcomb Riley, “A’ Old Played-Out Song”, in Pipes O' Pan at Zekesbury, Indianapolis, Ind.: Bowen-Merrill, page 45
   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. 2004, Carl Lindahl, editor, American Folktales: From the Collections of the Library of Congress, volume 1, Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, page 416
5. (music) 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. 2004, Joshua Stoddard, Christopher Raphael, Paul E. Utgoff, Well-Tempered Spelling: A Key-Invariant Pitch Spelling Algorithm, page 1