Respells

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Writes or prints a word again, usually in a changed spelling that better shows its sound or meaning
2. Spells a term anew, often using an altered form designed to make its pronunciation clearer
3. Gives a word a different written form, typically to reflect how it is actually pronounced

Etymology: Respells is the third-person singular form of "respell", a verb meaning to spell something again, usually in a new or different way. The verb dates from 1806, when English speakers combined the prefix "re-", meaning again or anew, with "spell", which in this sense goes back to the older idea of writing out letters one by one. The pairing is plain and transparent, so the word needs little more than its two parts to explain it. Because the prefix and the base are both native to English, nothing in the history is borrowed from another language. A reader who knows "spell" and "re-" already holds the whole meaning, which is why the coinage has stayed so easy to use.