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speller

speller

1 1.8
A book that teaches how to write words with the correct letters
  • noun
  • /ˈspɛlər/
  • US
translation icon : libro de ortografía
  • Shortly after the American Revolution, Webster created a series of popular spellers, grammars, and readers.

Examples

  • They will probably sound as alien to her as my own grandfather's stories about a one-room schoolhouse and a Blue Back Speller (Webster, 1809).

    Academic text (2015)

  • And what about books to learn from—spellers and such?

    Fiction book (1994)

  • "We can get spellers and slates from Prevarication Jones," said Mrs. Platt.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • It allows beginning readers and spellers to see what they hear and say (Ehri 1984).

    Academic text (1990)

  • Its name commemorates Webster's "blue-back speller," a schoolbook he authored in 1783 that was customarily bound in inexpensive blue-papered boards.

    Blog text (24)

  • The teacher recommended a new speller for her students to improve their writing skills.

  • Children often enjoy using colorful illustrations in their speller books while learning new words.

  • Every classroom has a basic speller that helps students learn how to spell common words correctly.

Synonyms

schoolbook
vsspeller
7 1.0

A book used by students at school or college to learn

is for teaching correct spelling to beginners and young children

How Elementary

speller
  • US
1 1.8
textbook
215 1.4

Surface Forms

speller singular
spellers plural

Morphology

speller = spell (semi-transparent) = spell + er

The book sense is an extended/nominalized use of the agent/instrument '-er' (a book that teaches or provides spelling), which is slightly specialized.

Etymology

Speller was also used for a book that teaches spelling because it comes from spell 'to name the letters'. So a speller book is a textbook that helps you learn to spell correctly.