Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Sense: 1,3-4
Origin: Old English'talk, story'
Sense: 2
Date: 1600-1700
Origin: spell 'to take the place of another' (11-21 centuries), from Old English spelian

spell

2 noun
     
spell2 [countable]
1 a piece of magic that someone does, or the special words or ceremonies used in doing it:
a magic spell
put a spell on somebody/cast a spell over somebody (=do a piece of magic to change someone)
The kiss of the prince broke the spell (=stopped the magic from working).
be under a spell
The whole town seemed to be under a spell.
2 a period of a particular kind of activity, weather, illness etc, usually a short period
brief/short spell
After a brief spell in the army, I returned to teaching.
spell of
a spell of bad luck
cold/wet/dry spell
Water the young plants carefully during dry spells.
a day of sunny spells and scattered showers
He began to suffer from dizzy spells.
3 a power that attracts, interests, and influences you very strongly
fall/come/be under a spell
I fell under the spell of her charm.
an ancient city that still casts its spell over travellers
4

break the spell

to make someone stop paying all their attention to something, or to make a time stop feeling special:
He lay still, not wanting to break the spell.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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