bispel

Etymology

From Middle English bispel, from Old English bīspel, biġspel (“proverb, parable, example, story”), from bī- (“by”) + spel (“talk, story”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Biespil (“example”), Middle Dutch bijspel (“proverb, parable”), German Low German Bispeel (“example”), German Beispiel (“example”). More at byspel, by-, spell.

bispel means A proverb or parable. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 78 out of 100.

Why this word is great

BISPEL — [Noun] A proverb or parable, especially one employed to illustrate a moral point with didactic clarity. From Middle English bispel, from Old English bīspel, biġspel ("proverb, parable, example"), a compound of bī- ("by, near, about") + spel ("talk, story, narrative"), rendering it literally as an explanatory narrative held up beside a truth. Unlike a "proverb," a terse, polished gem of folk wisdom, or a "fable," an invented allegory often feathered and furred, a bispel is the longer, plainer instrument of instruction. It is the firelight tale of a traveler's costly choice, the farmer's anecdote about a stubborn field, or the worn example of a mended pot made stronger at its cracks—each a deliberate vessel, crafted not for wonder but for wear, carrying its quiet weight of correction from one generation to the next.

noun

A proverb or parable.“Helmut de Boor offers a similarly narrow definition of the nature of morals to be drawn from fables. Opposing "bispel" and fable he sums up the differences as regards this aspect: "The bispel aims at cognition, the fable gives practical knowledge, and in so far as an educational aim is involved the bispel aims at improving man, the fable at making him wiser."”