bell English · revision 4303

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=a. 900|origins=ang belle}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /bel/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|belle]],^(MWU 2024) [[inh|ang|belle]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) with cognates in Middle Dutch and Middle Low German belle but not elsewhere in Germanic except as borrowings.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It is perhaps related to Old English bellan “to roar”,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) and so perhaps from an imitative [[ine-pro|*bʰel-|alt=*bhel-|t=to sound, roar]].^(Etymonline) It is related to [[bellow]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A hollow metal instrument that rings when struck: before 900, in the works of Alfred, according to Barnhart;^(Barnhart 1988) before 1000 in the OED, which also has small bells as decoration, as on a horse's harness or a falcon.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A bell rung to tell the hours, or the bell of a clock, is from 1422.^(OED 1989) The verb, to fit with a bell, is from the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) and allusions to the fable of the mice who decided to ''bell the cat'', so as to hear it coming, are as old.^(Etymonline) A bell-shaped flower is from 1610.^(OED 1989) On board ship a bell is a half-hour division of a watch, by 1804 in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) 1836 in the OED, from the bell struck every half hour.^(OED 1989) A ''bell pepper'' is from 1707 and bell-shaped glasses from the 1640s.^(Etymonline) ''Bell, book and candle'' refers to a form of excommunication.^(Etymonline) A bell rung to summon a servant is from 1782, and ''ring a bell'', to awaken a memory, from 1934.^(Etymonline) The statistical ''bell curve'' is from 1920.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * a. 900 – a bell.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1422 – a clock bell.^(OED 1989)

+ * late 14th century – verb, and ''bell the cat''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1610 – a bell-shaped flower.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1707 – ''bell pepper''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1804 – a ship's bell, a half hour.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1920 – ''bell curve''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1934 – ''ring a bell''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A hollow metal instrument, usually cup-shaped with a flared mouth, that gives a ringing tone when struck.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A device that rings or buzzes as a signal, such as a [[doorbell]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Something shaped like a bell, such as the flared mouth of a wind instrument or a bell-shaped [[flower]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # On a ship, the stroke of a bell marking each half hour of a watch.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To put a bell on.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To flare like a bell.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[bell-less]]

+ * [[belling]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[bellow]]

+ * [[bellwether]]

+ * [[doorbell]]

+ * [[bluebell]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A separate verb bell, from Old English bellan, means “to bellow, roar”, especially of a stag in rut, and its noun is the cry of a stag, from 1510.^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002)^(OED 1989) In Scots a bell was also a bubble, of unknown origin.^(SOED 2002)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}