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bell
(bel)
noun
- a hollow object, usually cuplike, made of metal or other hard material which rings when struck, as by a clapper inside
- such an object rung to mark the hours or the beginning and end of a period of time
- the sound made by a bell
- anything shaped like a bell, as a flower, the flare of a horn, etc.
- a musical instrument made up of a series of tuned metal bars or hollow tubes that are sounded by striking; specif.,
- glockenspiel
- chimes
- Naut.
- 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)
- any of these half-hour periods
Origin: ME & OE belle < IE base *bhel-, to sound, roar (orig. ? echoic) > bellow, ON belja, to roar
transitive verb
- to attach a bell or bells to
- to shape like a bell
intransitive verb
to flare out like a bell
noun
a bellow; roar
Origin: ME bellen < OE bellan: see bell
intransitive verb
to utter long, deep sounds, as a hound in pursuit of game; bay; bellow
- Bell, Alexander Graham 1847-1922; U.S. inventor of the telephone, born in Scotland
- pseudonym for the Brontë sisters
- Bell, Daniel 1919-; U.S. sociologist
See bell in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun
- A hollow metal musical instrument, usually cup-shaped with a flared opening, that emits a metallic tone when struck.
- Something resembling such an instrument in shape or sound, as:a. The round, flared opening of a wind instrument at the opposite end from the mouthpiece.b. bells A percussion instrument consisting of metal tubes or bars that emit tones when struck.c. A hollow, usually inverted vessel, such as one used for diving deep below the surface of a body of water.d. The corolla of a flower: “In a cowslip's bell I lie” (Shakespeare).
- Nautical a. A stroke on a hollow metal instrument to mark the hour.b. The time indicated by the striking of this instrument, divided into half hours.
- To put a bell on.
- To cause to flare like a bell.
To assume the form of a bell; flare.
Origin:
Origin: Middle English belle
Origin: , from Old English
.noun
The bellowing or baying cry of certain animals, such as a deer in rut or a beagle on the hunt.
intransitive verb belled, bell·ing, bells To utter long, deep, resonant sounds; bellow.
Origin:
Origin: From Middle English bellen, to bellow
Origin: , from Old English bellan
.
A city of southern California, a suburb of Los Angeles. Population: 37,300.
, Alexander Graham 1847-1922.
Scottish-born American inventor of the telephone. The first demonstration of electrical transmission of speech by his apparatus took place in 1876. Bell also invented the audiometer, an early hearing aid, and improved the phonograph.
(click for a larger image)
Alexander Graham Bell
, (Arthur) Clive (Howard) 1881-1964.
British critic who proposed his aesthetic theory of significant form in Art (1914).
, James Thomas Known as “Cool Papa.” 1903-1991.
American baseball player who spent his entire career in the Negro Leagues (1922-1950). Considered by many to be the fastest base runner ever, he reportedly stole 175 bases in 200 games in 1933.
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