bispell

Meaning

1. example, pattern; proverb

   Fēower hund and ðūsend cræta hē hæfde, and twelf ðūsend riddena; þrēo ðūsend biġspella hē ġesette, and fīf ðūsend lēoða; and asmēade bē ǣlċum trēowcynne, fram ðām hēagan ċederbēame, oðpæt hē cōm tō ðǣre lȳtlan ysopan. Ēac swylċe bē nȳtenum, and fixum, and fugelum hē smēade, and of eallum lēodum cōmon menn tō ġehȳrenne Salomones wīsdōm.

   He had one thousand, four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; he composed three thousand proverbs, and five thousand songs; and he contemplated on every kind of tree, from the tall cedar, to the little hyssop. Likewise, he contemplated animals, and fish, and birds, and people came from every tribe in order to hear Solomon's wisdom.

   Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church

2. parable, story, fable, allegory

Declension