byspel
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English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Middle English byspel, bispel, from Old English biġspel, bīspel (“a proverb; pattern; example”), equivalent to by- + spell (“talk, saying, discourse, story”). Compare Scots byspel (“byword; rarety; outcast”), Saterland Frisian Biespil (“example; pattern”), Middle Dutch bijspel (“proverb; parable”), German Low German Bispill (“example”), German Beispiel (“example”).
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]byspel (plural not attested)
- (rare, nonstandard) An example.
- 2011, Michael Everson, The Oxford English Dictionary on eð:
- I don't like using ð for most words at the beginning of the word simply because ð looks like a d and huru Ð looks like a D and would encourage people using the “d” instead of “th” for byspel: “dat” instead of “that” … and others.
- 2015, LT Wolf, The World King - Book I: The Reckoning:
- As far as Rostam could tell, the only thing needed to enlist in the Legion was a heartbeat. A byspel of this was that the Army carefully screen'd their soldiers for AIDS and regularly tested everyone for it owing to the likelihood of blood transfusions straight from one soldier to another on the battlefield.
- 2015, LT Wolf, The World King (fiction), →ISBN:
- For byspel, there will be no more write-offs for children and no more write-offs for interest payments on mortgages.
- 2015, Prashant Mishra, The Immortal Death:
- I confronted my little dream quite amusingly while he set a perfect parental byspel (example) by hearing me out with his sublime expressions, and as I finished my bit with a collective lot of sighs; 'It was just a bad dream.'
See also
[edit]Anagrams
[edit]Scots
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Middle English byspel, bispel, from Old English biġspel, bīspel (“example, pattern, proverb”), from bī- (“by-”) + spel (“tale, story”), equivalent to by- + spel. Compare Old High German bīspel, German Beispiel.
Noun
[edit]byspel (plural byspels)
- a rarety, someone or something of rare, unique, or exceptional qualities (often used ironically)
- She's just a byspale.
- (please add an English translation of this usage example)
- a. 1811, Jameson:
- He's nae byspel mair than me.
- He's no better than me.
Adverb
[edit]byspel
- very, extraordinarily, exceedingly, exceptionally
- byspel weel ("very well")
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms prefixed with by-
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English nouns with unattested plurals
- English terms with rare senses
- English nonstandard terms
- English terms with quotations
- Scots terms inherited from Middle English
- Scots terms derived from Middle English
- Scots terms inherited from Old English
- Scots terms derived from Old English
- Scots terms prefixed with by-
- Scots lemmas
- Scots nouns
- Scots terms with usage examples
- Scots terms with quotations
- Scots adverbs