spelt
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Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
spelt¹
- /ˈspɛlt/
Rhymes with -ɛlt
Where it comes from
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.
verb spelled
- simple past and past participle of spell Yes, yes; he teaches boys the hornbook. What is a, b, spelt / backward with the horn on his head?
spelt²
- /ˈspɛlt/
Rhymes with -ɛlt
Where it comes from
From Middle English spelt, from Old English spelt (“spelt, corn”), from Old Saxon spelta (“spelt”); or from Late Latin spelta (“spelt”), from Frankish *spelta (“spelt”); all from Proto-Germanic *spiltaz (“spelt”).
noun spelts
-
A grain, considered either a subspecies of wheat, Triticum aestivum subsp. spelta, or a separate species Triticum spelta or Triticum dicoccon.
Similar: dinkel
spelt³
- /ˈspɛlt/
Rhymes with -ɛlt
Where it comes from
The noun is from Middle English spelt, from Old English spelt, connected with the verb. Compare speld and German Spelze (“husk”).
The adjective is from Middle English spelt, probably a contraction of spelked, past participle of spelken (“to bruise (beans)”), itself of obscure origin. Compare Scots spilkings (“split peas”), the later verb, and perhaps also splet.
The verb is probably from the adjective. Compare earlier spald, speld.
noun spelts
- A thin piece of wood or metal; a splinter.
- Spelter.
adjective
- Of dried beans: pounded, crushed, or split. [H]alfe an houre after give him a pottell of Oates and a pinte of ſpelt Beanes, then a ſmall bottel of Hay: […]
verb spelts · spelting · spelted
- To grind or crush (grain or pulses). spelted Beans
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: triticum spelta, detailed, mis, orthography, explained, hulled wheat, common wheat, triticum, amelcorn, emmer, wheatgrass, cone wheat, weedrace, grain, spring wheat, pseudocereal
Translations
Talk about this word "spelt." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/spelt. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. spelt. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/spelt "spelt." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/spelt.Cite this
@misc{spelt_2026,
title = {spelt},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/spelt},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
