Come on in… sit a spell. | Esoteknix
The history of the English word “spell” is long and interesting. It has two main uses in modern English. As a verb, it means “to name or write the letters of a word in order,” and as a noun, it means “a charm or incantation.” The roots of these two meanings of the word are different.
“Spell” as a verb, means to write or say a word’s letters in order. This use of the word comes from the Old English “spellian,” which means “to tell, speak.” Around the end of the 14th century, the word’s meaning changed to what it means today. This may be because in the Middle Ages, people usually read out loud, and saying the words was thought to be the same as “telling” or “speaking” them.
“Spell” as a noun, meaning a charm or incantation, has a different root. It also comes from Old English, but it comes from a different word, “spell,” which meant “story or message.” By the early 14th century, it had come to mean a magic spell or charm. This was possibly because the folklore of the time linked stories and messages to magic and foretelling the future.
The Runes
Runes are the letters in a set of alphabets called the “runic alphabets.” The Germanic peoples used these alphabets before they switched to the Latin alphabet. Around 150 AD, the first runes were written down. Different Germanic languages in Northern Europe…
