SPELL(1) UNIX Programmer's Manual SPELL(1) NAME spell, spellin, spellout - find spelling errors SYNOPSIS spell [ -v ] [ -b ] [ -x ] [ -d hlist ] [ -s hstop ] [ -h spellhist ] [ file ] ... spellin [ list ] spellout [ -d ] list DESCRIPTION _S_p_e_l_l collects words from the named documents, and looks them up in a spelling list. Words that neither occur among nor are derivable (by applying certain inflections, prefixes or suffixes) from words in the spelling list are printed on the standard output. If no files are named, words are col- lected from the standard input. _S_p_e_l_l ignores most _t_r_o_f_f, _t_b_l and _e_q_n(1) constructions. Under the -v option, all words not literally in the spelling list are printed, and plausible derivations from spelling list words are indicated. Under the -b option, British spelling is checked. Besides preferring _c_e_n_t_r_e, _c_o_l_o_u_r, _s_p_e_c_i_a_l_i_t_y, _t_r_a_v_e_l_l_e_d, etc., this option insists upon -_i_s_e in words like _s_t_a_n_d_a_r_d_i_s_e, Fowler and the OED to the contrary notwithstanding. Under the -x option, every plausible stem is printed with `=' for each word. The spelling list is based on many sources. While it is more haphazard than an ordinary dictionary, it is also more effective with proper names and popular technical words. Coverage of the specialized vocabularies of biology, medi- cine and chemistry is light. The auxiliary files used for the spelling list, stop list, and history file may be specified by arguments following the -d, -s, and -h options. The default files are indicated below. Copies of all output may be accumulated in the his- tory file. The stop list filters out misspellings (e.g. thier=thy-y+ier) that would otherwise pass. Two routines help maintain the hash lists used by _s_p_e_l_l. Both expect a set of words, one per line, from the standard input. _S_p_e_l_l_i_n combines the words from the standard input and the preexisting _l_i_s_t file and places a new list on the standard output. If no _l_i_s_t file is specified, the new list is created from scratch. _S_p_e_l_l_o_u_t looks up each word from Printed 11/26/99 October 22, 1996 1 SPELL(1) UNIX Programmer's Manual SPELL(1) the standard input and prints on the standard output those that are missing from (or present on, with option -d) the hashed _l_i_s_t file. For example, to verify that _h_o_o_k_e_y is not on the default spelling list, add it to your own private list, and then use it with _s_p_e_l_l, echo hookey | spellout /usr/dict/hlista echo hookey | spellin /usr/dict/hlista > myhlist spell -d myhlist huckfinn FILES /usr/dict/hlist[ab] hashed spelling lists, American & Brit- ish, default for -d /usr/dict/hstop hashed stop list, default for -s /dev/null history file, default for -h /tmp/spell.$$* temporary files /usr/libexec/spell SEE ALSO deroff(1), sort(1), tee(1), sed(1) BUGS The spelling list's coverage is uneven; new installations will probably wish to monitor the output for several months to gather local additions. British spelling was done by an American. Printed 11/26/99 October 22, 1996 2