Definition
nounA 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.
nounAn instrument that emits a ringing sound, situated on a bicycle's handlebar and used by the cyclist to warn of their presence.
Sentence Examples
The church bell used to ring at three.
The bell went off right in the middle of our discussion.
She rang the bell and waited.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-der.
Proto-Germanic *bellǭ
Proto-West Germanic *bellā
Old English belle
Middle English belle
English bell
Inherited from Middle English belle, from Old English belle, from Proto-West Germanic *bellā, from Proto-Germanic *bellǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-.
Cognate with West Frisian belle, bel (“bell”), Dutch bel (“bell”), Low German Belle, Bel (“bell”), Danish bjælde (“bell”), Faroese bjølla (“bell”), Icelandic bjalla (“bell”), Norwegian bjelle (“bell”), Swedish bjällra (“bell”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"HEAR the sledges with the bells —
Silver bells!
What a world of merriment their melody foretells!"
— 1848, Edgar Allan Poe, The Bells:
"The bell which called the pupils to their lessons can still be seen on the roof."
— 1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 269, about a school in Lower Peover:
"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."
— 2011 December 18, Ben Dirs, “Carl Froch outclassed by dazzling Andre Ward”, in BBC Sport:
"In a cowslip's bell I lie."
— 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:
"He swam to the place where Mary disappeared but there was neither boil nor gurgle on the water, nor even a bell of departing breath, to mark the place where his beloved had sunk."
— 1828, James Hogg, Mary Burnet: