noun

1. a hollow object, usually cuplike, made of metal or other hard material which rings when struck, as by a clapper inside
2. such an object rung to mark the hours or the beginning and end of a period of time
3. the sound made by a bell
4. anything shaped like a bell, as a flower, the flare of a horn, etc.
5. a musical instrument made up of a series of tuned metal bars or hollow tubes that are sounded by striking; specif.,
   1. glockenspiel
   2. chimes
6. Naut.
   1. a bell rung every half hour during each of the five four-hour watches and during the four-hour period comprising the two dog watches: the series of rings begins at one bell (12:30, 4:30, and 8:30 o'clock) and ends at eight bells (4:00, 8:00, and 12:00 o'clock)
   2. any of these half-hour periods

Etymology: ME & OE belle < IE base *bhel-, to sound, roar (orig. ? echoic) > bellow, ON belja, to roar

transitive verb

1. to attach a bell or bells to
2. to shape like a bell

intransitive verb

noun

Etymology: ME bellen < OE bellan: see bell

intransitive verb