speel

S1P3E1E1L1

verb

To climb.

OriginEarly Scots speill ← Middle Dutch spelen ← Middle English spilen →
UncommonScrabble 7
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Meanings

speel1

verbspeel (third-person singular simple present speels, present participle speeling, simple past and past participle speeled)

present singular third person speels · participle present speeling · participle past speeled · past speeled · alternative speil · alternative spele · alternative speal · alternative spiel · alternative spael

  1. Northern EnglishScottishdialectalTo climb.

    1860, Hugh MacDonald, Days at the Coast: A Series of Sketches Descriptive of the Firth of Clyde, Glasgow, page 255, There is a comfortable inn at this picturesque spot, where those who purpose speeling the lofty Ben generally prepare for their arduous undertaking.

    2 more examples

    1832 March 5, Memoirs of a Paisley Baillie, The Day: A Journal of Literature, Fine Arts, Fashions, &c., Glasgow, page 218, This I thocht at the time when he was speeling up the ladder before me in the Hie Kirk steeple ; but good breeding, at that particular time, keeped me from taking ony correck view of how things stood in that quarter.

    They were catched speeling up the lamp-posts and taking oot the cruizes and drinking the ulye, wick and a′.

    1841, “Humorous Traits of an Old Highland Gentleman”, in Chambers′ Edinburgh Journal, Volume 9, Numbers 317-318, page 94

speel2

verbspeel (third-person singular simple present speels, present participle speeling, simple past and past participle speeled)

present singular third person speels · participle present speeling · participle past speeled · past speeled · alternative speil · alternative spele · alternative speal · alternative spiel · alternative spael

  1. To talk at length, to spiel.

    1973, Irene Baird, Waste Heritage, Macmillan of Canada, page 262, “I must close now or I shall go on speeling all night. […] ”

    1 more example

    Old Saxon, who was so sweet and gentle despite his long years on the halls, smiled at me and suggested I should do some speeling. Yedo gave me a megaphone. I held it to my mouth but there was silence.

    1972, Sven Berlin, Pride of the Peacock: The Evolution of an Artist, page 91

speel3

verbspeel (third-person singular simple present speels, present participle speeling, simple past and past participle speeled)

present singular third person speels · participle present speeling · participle past speeled · past speeled · alternative speil · alternative spele · alternative speal · alternative spiel · alternative spael

  1. AustraliadialectalTo run.

speel4

nounspeel (plural speels)

plural speels · alternative speil · alternative spele · alternative speal · alternative spiel · alternative spael

  1. South AfricaA story; a spiel.

speel5

nounspeel (plural speels)

plural speels · alternative dialectal obsolete spool · alternative speil · alternative spele · alternative speal · alternative spiel · alternative spael

  1. CumbriaA splinter; a strip of wood or metal.

speel6

nounspeel (plural speels)

plural speels · alternative speil · alternative spele · alternative speal · alternative spiel · alternative spael

  1. Northern EnglandScotlanddialectalrusticA game.

    To play a good speel.

verbspeel (third-person singular simple present speels, present participle speeling, simple past and past participle speeled)

present singular third person speels · participle present speeling · participle past speeled · past speeled · alternative speil · alternative spele · alternative speal · alternative spiel · alternative spael

  1. Northern EnglandScotlanddialectalrusticTo lake, play, sport, take amusement.

    To speel ba'.

Origin

speel · verb

  1. Old Englishspilian“to play”
  2. Middle Englishspilen
  3. Middle Dutchspelen“to play, walk a tight rope, do gymnastic tricks, juggle, perform as an actor or clown”
  4. Early Scotsspelare“acrobat, tumbler”
  5. Early Scotsspeill“to climb”
  6. Englishspeel

From Early Scots speill (“to climb”), of obscure origin. From or akin to Early Scots spelare (“acrobat, tumbler”). Probably from Middle Dutch spelen (“to play, walk a tight rope, do gymnastic tricks, juggle, perform as an actor or clown”), see spiel. Alternately, representing a continuation of Middle English spilen, from Old English spilian (“to play”).

More words from Early Scots, Middle Dutch, Middle English

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speel · verb

From English dialectal speel (“talk; lingo; patter”), short for bonspiel. Related to spiel.

Full word history & related roots →

speel · noun

  1. Afrikaansspeel
  2. Englishspeel

Probably from Afrikaans speel. Compare Middle English spel (“a story; tale; narrative”). Doublet of spell and shpiel.

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speel · noun

Possibly related to spile.

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speel · noun, verb

  1. Proto-West Germanic*spilōn
  2. Old Englishspilian“to revel, play”
  3. Middle Englishspilen“to revel, play”
  4. Englishspeel

Perhaps continuing Middle English spilen (“to revel, play”), from Old English spilian (“to revel, play”), from Proto-West Germanic *spilōn. Cognate with Dutch spelen (“to play”), German spielen (“to play”), Luxembourgish spillen (“to play”), Icelandic spila (“to play”), Faroese spæla (“to play”), Swedish spela (“to play”), Danish spille (“to play”), Norwegian spille (“to play”).

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

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Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

sleep
Cite this entry
APA

speel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/speel

MLA

“speel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/speel. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “speel,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/speel.

Source: speel on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.