bell

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See also Bell, and bèll

Contents

[edit] English

A large bell
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[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Etymology 1

Old English belle; cognate with Dutch bel.

[edit] Noun

bell (plural bells)

  1. A percussive instrument made of metal or other hard material, typically but not always in the shape of an inverted cup with a flared rim, which resonates when struck.
    • 1848, Edgar Allan Poe, "The Bells"
      HEAR the sledges with the bells
      Silver bells!
      What a world of merriment their melody foretells!
  2. The sounding of a bell as a signal.
    • 2011 December 18, Ben Dirs, “Carl Froch outclassed by dazzling Andre Ward”, BBC Sport:
      Referee Steve Smoger was an almost invisible presence in the ring as both men went at it, although he did have a word with Froch when he landed with a shot after the bell at the end of the eighth.
  3. (chiefly UK, informal) A telephone call.
    I’ll give you a bell later.
  4. A signal at a school that tells the students when it's time to change classes during the day.
  5. (music) The flared end of a brass or woodwind instrument.
  6. (nautical) Any of a series of strokes on a bell (or similar), struck every half hour to indicate the time (within a four hour watch)
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
[edit] See also

[edit] Verb

bell (third-person singular simple present bells, present participle belling, simple past and past participle belled)

  1. (transitive) To attach a bell to.
    Who will bell the cat?
  2. To shape so that flares out like a bell.
  3. (slang, transitive) To telephone.
    • 2006, Dominic Lavin, Last Seen in Bangkok
      "Vinny, you tosser, it's Keith. I thought you were back today. I'm in town. Bell us on the mobile.
[edit] Translations

[edit] Etymology 2

Old English bellan. Cognate with German bellen (to bark).

[edit] Verb

bell (third-person singular simple present bells, present participle belling, simple past and past participle belled)

  1. (intransitive) To bellow or roar.
    • 1774, Oliver Goldsmith, A History of the Earth, and Animated Nature:
      This animal is said to harbour in the place where he resides. When he cries, he is said to bell; the print of his hoof is called the slot; his tail is called the single; his excrement the fumet; his horns are called his head [...].
    • 1955, William Golding, The Inheritors, Faber and Faber 2005, p. 128:
      Then, incredibly, a rutting stag belled by the trunks.
[edit] Translations

[edit] Noun

bell (plural bells)

  1. The bellow or bay of certain animals, such as a hound on the hunt or a stag in rut.
[edit] Translations

[edit] Catalan

[edit] Etymology

From Latin bellus

[edit] Adjective

bell m. (feminine bella, masculine plural bells, feminine plural belles)

  1. beautiful

[edit] Related terms

[edit] References

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