spale vs spell

spale

noun
  • A chip or splinter of wood. 

  • One of a number of cross-bands fastened temporarily to the frames to keep them in place until properly secured. 

  • A strengthening cross timber. 

  • A lath; a shaving or chip, as of wood or stone. 

spell

noun
  • A splinter, usually of wood; a spelk. 

  • An uninterrupted series of alternate overs bowled by a single bowler. 

  • A magical effect or influence induced by an incantation or formula. 

  • An indefinite period of time (usually with a qualifier); by extension, a relatively short distance. 

  • Words or a formula supposed to have magical powers. 

  • A definite period (of work or other activity). 

  • The wooden bat in the game of trap ball, or knurr and spell. 

  • A period of rest; time off. 

  • A period of illness, or sudden interval of bad spirits, disease etc. 

  • A shift (of work); (rare) a set of workers responsible for a specific turn of labour. 

verb
  • To be able to write or say the letters that form words. 

  • To work in place of (someone). 

  • To constitute; to measure. 

  • To rest (someone or something), to give someone or something a rest or break. 

  • To clarify; to explain in detail. 

  • Of letters: to compose (a word). 

  • To indicate that (some event) will occur. 

  • To rest from work for a time. 

  • To put under the influence of a spell; to affect by a spell; to bewitch; to fascinate; to charm. 

  • To write or say the letters that form a word or part of a word. 

How often have the words spale and spell occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )