a bell

Bell

[bel]
noun
1.
Ac·ton [ak-tuhn] pen name of Anne Brontë.
2.
Alexander Graham, 1847–1922, U.S. scientist, born in Scotland: inventor of the telephone.
3.
(Arthur) Clive (Howard) 1881–1964, English critic of literature and art.
4.
Cur·rer [kur-er] pen name of Charlotte Brontë.
5.
Ellis, pen name of Emily Brontë.
6.
James Thomas ( "Cool Papa" ) 1903–91, U.S. baseball player, a Negro Leagues outfielder noted for his speed.
7.
John, 1797–1869, U.S. political leader: Speaker of the House 1834–35.
8.
a city in SW California, near Los Angeles.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To a bell
00:10
A bell is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
bell1 (bɛl) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
1.  a hollow, usually metal, cup-shaped instrument that emits a musical ringing sound when struck, often by a clapper hanging inside it
2.  the sound made by such an instrument or device, as for showing the hours or marking the beginning or end of a period of time
3.  an electrical device that rings or buzzes as a signal
4.  the bowl-shaped termination of the tube of certain musical wind instruments, such as the trumpet or oboe
5.  Compare chime any musical percussion instrument emitting a ringing tone, such as a glockenspiel, one of a set of hand bells, etc
6.  nautical a signal rung on a ship's bell to count the number of half-hour intervals during each of six four-hour watches reckoned from midnight. Thus, one bell may signify 12.30, 4.30, or 8.30 a.m. or p.m
7.  See diving bell
8.  biology a structure resembling a bell in shape, such as the corolla of certain flowers or the body of a jellyfish
9.  slang (Brit) a telephone call (esp in the phrase give someone a bell)
10.  informal (Brit) beat seven bells out of, knock seven bells out of to give a severe beating to
11.  bell, book, and candle
 a.  instruments used formerly in excommunications and other ecclesiastical acts
 b.  informal the solemn ritual ratification of such acts
12.  ring a bell to sound familiar; recall to the mind something previously experienced, esp indistinctly
13.  sound as a bell in perfect condition
14.  the bells the ringing of bells, in a church or other public building, at midnight on December 31st, symbolizing the beginning of a new year
 
—vb
15.  to be or cause to be shaped like a bell
16.  (tr) to attach a bell or bells to
17.  bell the cat to undertake a dangerous mission
 
[Old English belle; related to Old Norse bjalla, Middle Low German bell; see bell²]

bell2 (bɛl) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
1.  a bellowing or baying cry, esp that of a hound or a male deer in rut
 
—vb
2.  to utter (such a cry)
 
[Old English bellan; related to Old Norse belja to bellow, Old High German bellan to roar, Sanskrit bhāsate he talks; see bellow]

Bell (bɛl) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
1.  See Brontë Acton, Currer (ˈkʌrə), and Ellis. pen names of the sisters Anne, Charlotte, and Emily Brontë
2.  Alexander Graham. 1847--1922, US scientist, born in Scotland, who invented the telephone (1876)
3.  Sir Francis Henry Dillon. 1851--1936, New Zealand statesman; prime minister of New Zealand (1925)
4.  Gertrude (Margaret Lowthian). 1868--1926, British traveller, writer, and diplomat; secretary to the British High Commissioner in Baghdad (1917--26)
5.  Joshua. born 1967, US violinist
6.  (Susan) Jocelyn, married name Jocelyn Burnell, born 1943, British radio astronomer, who discovered the first pulsar
7.  Vanessa, original name Vanessa Stephen. 1879--1961, British painter; a member of the Bloomsbury group, sister of Virginia Woolf and wife of the art critic Clive Bell (1881--1964)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

bell
O.E. belle, common North Sea Gmc. (cf. M.Du. belle, M.L.G. belle) but not found elsewhere in Gmc. (except as a borrowing), from PIE base *bhel- "to sound, roar." Statistical bell curve was coined 1870s in French. Bell, book, and candle is a reference to a form of excommunication. To ring a bell "awaken
a memory," 1934, is perhaps a reference to Pavlovian experiments.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

Bell (běl), Sir Charles. 1774-1842.

British anatomist and surgeon who published detailed anatomies of the nervous system and the brain. He was the first to distinguish between sensory and motor nerves. Bell's Law and Bell's palsy are named for him.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
Bell   (běl)  Pronunciation Key 
Scottish-born American scientist and inventor whose lifelong interest in the education of deaf people led him to conceive the idea of transmitting speech by electric waves. In 1876 his experiments with a telegraph resulted in his invention of the telephone. He later produced the first successful sound recorder, an early hearing aid, and many other devices.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Easton
Bible Dictionary

Bell definition


The bells first mentioned in Scripture are the small golden bells attached to the hem of the high priest's ephod (Ex. 28:33, 34, 35). The "bells of the horses" mentioned by Zechariah (14:20) were attached to the bridles or belts round the necks of horses trained for war, so as to accustom them to noise and tumult.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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