Old English godspel "glad tidings announced by Jesus; one of the four gospels," literally "good spell," from god "good" (see good (adj.)) + spel "story, message" (see spell (n.1)). A translation of Latin bona adnuntiatio, itself a translation of Greek euangelion "reward for bringing good news" (see evangel).

The first element of the Old English word had originally a long "o," but it shifted under mistaken association with God, as if "God-story" (i.e. the history of Christ).

The mistake was very natural, as the resulting sense was much more obviously appropriate than that of 'good tidings' for a word which was chiefly known as the name of a sacred book or of a portion of the liturgy. [OED, 1989]

The word passed early from English to continental Germanic languages in forms that clearly indicate the first element had shifted to "God," such as Old Saxon godspell, Old High German gotspell, Old Norse goðspiall.

Used of anything as true as the Gospel from mid-13c.; as "any doctrine maintained as of exclusive importance" from 1650s. As an adjective from 1640s. Gospel music in reference to Christian songs is by 1875. Gospel-gossip was Addison's word ("Spectator," 1711) for "one who is always talking of sermons, texts, etc."

mid-15c., "action of reading letter by letter," verbal noun from spell (v.1). In late Old English it meant "action of speaking, an utterance." The meaning "manner of forming words with letters" is from 1660s; the meaning "a particular way a word has been spelled" is from 1731.

Spelling bee "contest between two or more for superiority in spelling" is attested from 1809 (see bee); also spelling match, 1845; the act of winning such a schoolroom contest is described in 1854 as to spell (someone) down. Spelling book, designed to teach how to spell properly, is by 1670s. Spelling reform is by 1848.

"glib speech, pitch," slang, 1896 (Ade), probably from the verb (1894, in a San Francisco context) meaning "to speak in a glib manner," earlier "to play circus music" (1870, in a German-American context), from German spielen "to play," from Old High German spilon (cognate with Old English spilian "to play"). The noun also perhaps from German Spiel "play, game." Related: Spieler.

The Old English cognate survived into early Middle English as spile "play, sport, revelry" (13c.) also as a verb, spilen, from Old English spilian.

also mis-spell, "spell incorrectly," 1650s, from mis- (1) + spell (v.1). Related: Misspelled; misspelling.

also re-spell, "to spell again," specifically "spell in another form or system," 1806, from re- "again" + spell (v.1). Related: Respelled; respelling.

"capable of being represented in letters," 1837; see spell (v.1) + -able.

"rapt, fascinated, bound by or as if by a spell," 1742, from spell (n.1) + bound (adj.1) "fastened," past participle of bind (v.).

also spellcheck, "to use a computer's spell-checker application on a document," by 1985, from spell (v.) + check (v.1). The applications themselves date to the late 1970s. Related: Spell-checked; spell-checking.

c. 1200, "a preacher;" in the sense "a person who reads letter by letter," mid-15c. (or possibly "spelling expert," glossing Latin sillabicator); by 1828 in reference to a book to teach orthography. Agent noun from spell (v.1).