| 释义 |
▪ I. bell, n.1|bɛl|
Forms: 1–7 belle, (4 bill), 4–7 bel, 6– bell.
[A common LG. word: OE. belle wk. fem. = MDu. and MLG. belle, Du. bel (in Icel. bjalla from OE.), not occurring in other Teutonic languages; perhaps from same root as bell v.4 to make a loud noise, roar. The history of the transferred sense 4 is not quite certain.]
I. Properly.
1. A hollow body of cast metal, formed to ring, or emit a clear musical sound, by the sonorous vibration of its entire circumference, when struck by a clapper, hammer, or other appliance. The typical form, found in all large bells (and indicated by the expression bell-shaped), is that of an inverted deep cup with a recurving brim, which is struck by a ‘clapper’ or ‘tongue,’ usually suspended from the centre of the interior.
Other forms, used only in small bells, are a section of a hollow sphere, struck by a hammer impelled by a spring as in the bell of a house-clock, a table bell, etc., and a hollow sphere containing an unattached or freely suspended solid metal ball which answers the purpose of the tongue.
Bells of the regular form vary greatly in size and weight.
a. The larger kinds are used for giving signals of various import (time, danger, etc.) to the inhabitants of a town or district, and especially in connexion with public worship (cf. chime); the smaller kinds are used for similar purposes in a house (e.g. door-bell, dinner-bell, electric-bell).
b. Small bells are frequently used for decoration, e.g. on a horse's trappings, a falcon's leg, the cap of a fool or jester, etc.
a.a1000Chart. Leofric in Cod. Dipl. IV. 275 He hæfð ðiderynn ᵹedon..vii. uphangene bella. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 215 Boc oðer belle, calch oðer messe-ref. 1297R. Glouc. 509 Me rong bellen, & vaste the ropes drou. c1425Seven Sag. (P.) 2285 Quod the emperour, ‘By Goddis belle, Of that cas thou most me telle.’ 1538Bale Thre Lawes 1197 In bedes and in belles, not vsed of the turkes. 1602Return fr. Parnass. ii. vi. (Arb.) 33 Then goe to his meate when the Bell rings. 1692Bp. of Ely Answ. Touchstone 72 A man..to whom the Bell clinks just as he thinks. 1782Cowper A. Selkirk iv, The sound of the church-going bell. a1815in G. Rose Diaries (1860) II. 438 He put out his hand to pull the bell. 1835Marryat Olla Podr. x, He's running..to answer the bell.
b.c1200Ormin 950 Tatt Iudisskenn preost wass..Bi⁓henngedd all wiþþ belless. 1382Wyclif Judg. viii. 21 The ournementis, and billis [1388 bellis] with the whiche the neckis of kyngis chamels ben wonyd to be anourned. 1486Bk. St. Albans D iij, The bellis that yowre hawke shall wheer, looke..that thay be not to heuy. 1600Shakes. A.Y.L. iii. iii. 81 As the Oxe hath his bow..and the Falcon her bels. 1611Bible Zech. xiv. 20 Vpon the bels of the horses, Holines Vnto the Lord. 1742Jarvis Quix. i. iii. xxiii. (1885) 134, I will not have a dog with a bell. 1855Tennyson Maud i. vi. vii, Often a man's own angry pride Is cap and bells for a fool.
2. With various words prefixed to describe its shape, material, etc., or define its use, as alarm-bell, bridle-bell, church-bell, clock-bell, curfew-bell, dinner-bell, door-bell, hand-bell, marriage-bell, night-bell, sheep-bell, town-bell; and esp. in eccles. use, as bearing-bell, houseling-bell, lich-bell, sacring-bell, sanctus-bell or saunce-bell; death-bell, passing-bell, a bell tolled to announce a death.
a1508Kennedy Flyting w. Dunbar 506 Ane benefice quha wald gyue sic ane beste, Bot gif it war to gyngill Iudas bellis! 1548Patten Exp. Scotl. in Arb. Garner III. 71 Pardon beads, Saint Anthony's bells, Tauthrie laces. 1552–3Inv. Ch. Goods Staffordsh. (has passim), Bearing-bell, clock-bell, hand-bell, houseling-bell, lyche-bell, sacring-bell, sanctus-bell, visiting-bell. 1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iv. iv. 4 The curphew Bell hath rung. c1620Z. Boyd Zion's Flowers (1855) 36 Thou a passing bell, 'Gainst their transgressions did so loudly knell. 1816Byron Ch. Har. iii. xxi, And all went merry as a marriage bell. 1818Scott Hrt. Midl. xxvii, Every word fell on Butler's ear like the knell of a death-bell. 1842Tennyson Lady of Shalott iii. ii, The bridle bells rang merrily. 1861Romance Dull L. xlviii. 358 Listening to the idly busy sound of sheep-bells. 1863Longfellow Falc. Federigo 110 A passing bell Tolled from the tower.
3. spec.
a. A bell rung to tell the hours; the bell of a clock; whence the obs. phrases of, on, at the bell = o'clock.
1422MS. at Hatfield Ho., In the morowe tide bitwene vj and vij of the belle died Kyng Charles. c1447Eng. Chron. App. 117 Appon iij on the belle at aftrenone. 1448J. Shillingford Lett. (1871) 61 On tuysday..at iij. atte belle afternone. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. ccxxxii. 322 This batayle endured fro ix. of y⊇ bell, tyll it was past hye none. 1590Shakes. Com. Err. i. ii. 45 The clocke hath strucken twelue vpon the bell. 1742Young Nt. Th. i. 55 The bell strikes one. 1848Thackeray Van. Fair III. vi 81 As the shrill-toned bell of the black marble study-clock began to chime nine.
b. Naut. The bell which is struck on ship-board, every half hour, to indicate by the number of strokes the number of half-hours of the watch which have elapsed; a period of half-an-hour thus indicated. (See quots.).
1836Marryat Midsh. Easy ix, It struck seven bells, and he accompanied Mr. Jolliffe on deck. 1840R. Dana Bef. Mast iv. 8 At seven bells in the morning all hands were called aft. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 94 We say it is two bells, three bells, etc., meaning there are two or three half-hours past. The watch of four hours is eight bells.
II. Transferred to bell-shaped objects.
4. A corolla shaped like a bell; hence in the name of various flowering plants, esp. of the genus Campanula, e.g. blue-bell, Canterbury bells, harebell; dead men's bells (dialectal name of the Foxglove), heather-bell, etc.
1610Shakes. Temp. v. i. 90 In a Cowslips bell, I lie. 1637Milton Lycidas 135 Bid them hither cast Their bells and flowerets. 1742R. Blair Grave 254 Dew-drops on the bells of flowers. 1847De Quincey Joan of Arc Wks. III. 209 Flower nor bud, bell nor blossom would ever bloom for her.
5. Frequently applied to vessels bell-shaped, as a bell-glass, diving-bell, etc.
1641French Distill. iii. (1651) 68 The Bell must hang at such a distance from the other vessell. 1693Evelyn De la Quint. Compl. Gard. Gloss., Bells, are large Glasses made in the form of Bells, to clap over tender Plants or such as are to be forced. c1715Halley in Sat. Mag. 20 Apr. (1839) 147/1 The..cavity of the [diving] bell was kept..free from water.
6. Any object or portion of an object shaped like a bell; esp. in various technical uses:
a. Arch. ‘The naked vase or corbeille of the Corinthian or Composite capitals, round which the foliage and volutes are arranged.’ Gwilt.
1848Rickman Archit. 33 The bell is set round with two rows of leaves, eight in each row. 1851Ruskin Stones Ven. I. ix. 102 The sloping stone is called the Bell of the capital.
b. The everted orifice of a trumpet or other wind instrument.
1806Busby Dict. Mus. (ed. 2), Bell of a Horn, the large, open part of the instrument, from which the sound immediately issues. 1856Mrs. C. Clarke Berlioz' Instrum. 130 The narrower the opening left in the bell [of a horn], the..rougher the note. 1926Whiteman & McBride Jazz ix. 201 The players [of cornets] got that effect by inverting glass tumblers over the bells of the instruments. 1966Crescendo Oct. 22/3 Sitting only three feet from the..bell of Jimmy Heath's tenor [saxophone].
c. The body of a helmet.
1874Boutell Arms & Arm. iii. 55 The other variety..has the bell of a more conical form. Ibid. v. 77 The figures..on the sides of the bell of the head-piece.
d. Mech. (See quots. 1881, 1893.)
1881Raymond Mining Gloss., Bell and hopper..an iron hopper with a large central opening, which is closed by a cone or bell, pulled up into it from below. 1893Funk's Stand. Dict., Bell, the movable cap at the top of a modern blast-furnace, which is lifted to put in the charge of ore, etc. 1930Engineering 2 May 589/1, 10 per cent of the total gas made was lost owing to the use of single bells on the blast-furnaces. 1944Gloss. Terms Gas Industry (B.S.I.) 26 Bell, the hollow cylinder closed at its upper end which forms the gas container.
e. (See quot.) Cf. bell-tent in 12.
1858Beveridge Hist. India III. ix. i. 559 The bells, or small huts, where the native arms..were deposited.
III. Phrases.
7. a. to bear the bell: to take the first place, to have foremost rank or position, to be the best. to bear or carry away the bell: to carry off the prize. The former phrase refers to the bell worn by the leading cow or sheep (cf. bell-wether) of a drove or flock; the latter, perhaps, to a golden or silver bell sometimes given as the prize in races and other contests; but the two have been confused.
c1374Chaucer Troylus iii. 149 And, let se which of yow shal bere the belle To speke of love aright? c1460Towneley Myst. 88 Of alle the foles I can telle..Ye thre bere the belle. 1470Harding Chron. lxxxi. xi, At the last the Brytons bare the bell, And had the felde and all the victorye. 1594Barnfield Aff. Sheph. ii. xxxix, For pure white the Lilly beares the Bell. 1594Carew Huarte's Exam. Wits xiii. (1596) 215 Iulius Cæsar..bare away the bell (in respect of fortunatenesse) from all other captains of the world. 1621Burton Anat. Mel. To Rdr. 49 True merchants, they carry away the bell from all other nations. 1713Lond. & Countr. Brew. iv. (1743) 295 A very heady Malt Liquor, which..carries the Bell, by having the Name of the best Drink far and near. 1773Pennant's Tour N. Wales, A little golden bell was the reward of victory in 1607 at the races near York, whence came the proverb for success of any kind, to bear the bell. 1817Byron Beppo x, Venice the bell from every city bore.
†b. Similarly, to deserve or lose the bell, to give the bell. Obs.
1600Fairfax Tasso xvii. lxix, When in single fight he lost the bell. a1619M. Fotherby Atheom. i. iv. §4 (1622) 25 The follie of the Romanes doth well deserue the Bell. 1686W. Aglionby Paint. Illustr. 278 Which gave him the Bell above all Modern Artists.
c. to ring the bell (colloq.): to carry off the prize; to be the best of a lot: in allusion to the ringing of the bell attached to a strength-testing machine.
1900J. M. Barrie Tommy & Grizel viii. 102 It was a shot that rang the bell. 1928Publishers' Weekly 26 May 2094 This [book] liberally illustrated, with a great jacket, rings the bell.
d. to ring a bell (colloq.): to awaken the memory, to set one remembering.
[1934A. Huxley Beyond Mexique Bay 51 Why should the Local Pavlov have chosen to ring just those particular bells which happen to be rung?] 1939N. Monsarrat This is Schoolroom ii. xi. 239 The things we talked about meant nothing to them: they rang no bell. 1945M. Agate Madame Sarah xii. 171 They would be quick to recognize a great performance, but would it ‘ring a bell’ with them, I wonder? 1945M. Allingham Coroner's Pidgin xxiii. 203 That's where I saw the name, then... It rang only a very faint bell. 1957P. Frankau Bridge 64 ‘Do you remember..the stage⁓hands who built the set?’ ‘That rings a bell.’
e. to give (someone) a bell, to call (someone) by telephone, to ring up. Cf. tinkle n. d. colloq.
1982Brit. Jrnl. Photogr. 23 July 785/2 ‘An audition.’..‘I understand{ddd}I'll set it up and give you a bell.’ 1985Music Week 2 Feb. (Advt. section) 4 Give them a Bell on 402 3105. 1986G. F. Newman Set Thief v. 58, I was going to give you a bell. But I thought it best to give the phone a miss.
8. by bell and book, book and bell (i.e. those used in the service of the mass): a frequent asseveration in the Middle Ages. to curse by bell, book, and candle: referring to a form of excommunication which closed with the words, ‘Doe to the book, quench the candle, ring the bell!’ Also used as summarizing the resources of the hierarchy against heretics, or the terrors of excommunication; and humorously, to indicate the accessories of a religious ceremony.
a1300Cursor M. 17110 Curced in kirc þan sal þai be wid candil, boke, and bell. c1400Ywaine & Gaw. 3023 So bus the do, by bel and boke. c1420Anters Arth. iii, That borne was in Burgoyne, be boke and by belle. 1595Shakes. John iii. iii. 12 Bell, Booke, & Candle, shall not driue me back, When gold and siluer becks me to come on! 1611L. Barrey Ram Alley in Dodsley O. Pl. V. 447, I have a priest will mumble up a marriage, Without bell, book, or candle. 1680Spir. Popery 45 The Field-Preachers damned this Bond with Bell, Book, and Candle. 1828Scott F.M. Perth I. 155 Hold thy hand, on pain of bell, book, and candle.
9. With allusion to the fable of the mice (or rats) who proposed to hang a bell round the cat's neck, so as to be warned of its approach. See also bell the cat in bell v.5
1377Langl. P. Pl. B. Prol. 168 Bugge a belle of brasse..And hangen it vp-on þe cattes hals; þanne here we mowen Where he ritt or rest. a1529Skelton Col. Cloute 164 Loth to hang the bell aboute the cattes necke. 1562J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 32, I will hang the bell about the cats necke. 1627E. F. Hist. Edw. II (1680) 14 Wishing some one would shew undaunted valour, to tye the Bell about the Cat's neck.
10. as sound or as clear as a bell; see sound a., clear a.
IV. Comb. and attrib.
11. General relations:
a. simple attrib., as bell-canopy, bell-chamber, bell-chime, bell-clapper, bell-cot, bell-cote, bell-end (see 6 b), bell-loft, bell-steeple, bell-toll, bell-tower;
b. objective, as bell-baptism, bell-bearer, bell-caster, bell-casting, bell-hallower, bell-maker;
c. similative and parasynthetic, as bell-barrow [barrow n.1 3], bell-beaker [beaker 1 c], bell-button, bell-cup, bell-lamp, bell-mouth, bell-net, bell-shape; bell-bored, bell-crowned, bell-fashioned, bell-hooded, bell-mouthed, bell-nosed, bell-shaped;
d. instrumental with pa. pple., as bell-hung. Also bell-like adj.
1872Ellacombe Bells of Ch. v. 78 The ceremony of *bell baptism exceeds in splendour and minutiæ the baptism of Christians.
[1743Stukely Abury ix. 41 Barrows with ditches round them. These are..generally of an elegantly turn'd bell-form.] 1812Sir R. C. Hoare Anc. Hist. S. Wilts. 21 *Bell Barrow. This, from the elegance of its form, seems to have been a refinement on the Bowl Barrow: they abound in the neighbourhood of Stonehenge. 1928Crawford & Keiller Wessex from Air iv. 13 Some Bell-barrows certainly belong to the very beginning of the period... The name is, of course, derived from the form. The mound is high, and is usually separated from the surrounding ditch by a narrow shelf or berm of natural soil.
1902Jrnl. Anthrop. Inst. XXXII. 390 The different class of beaker..is often called the ‘*Bell-beaker’, from its caliciform or bell-shaped form. 1925V. G. Childe Dawn Europ. Civilization xix. 293 In Bavaria and Thuringia as elsewhere, the bell-beaker folk had used metal. 1967Antiquaries Jrnl. XLVII. 182 Crichel Down in Dorset..where one sherd of rusticated ware was found associated with small sherds of the Bell-Beaker class.
1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts 189 Neither have Goats a Captain or *Bell-bearer like unto Sheep.
1775Adair Amer. Ind. 7 The beaus..choose *bell-buttons, to give a greater sound. 1851H. Melville Whale vi. 36 He orders bell-buttons to his waistcoats.
1628in Earwaker E. Cheshire I. 107 note, Going to enquire for the *bellcaster.
1872Ellacombe Bells of Ch. i. 3, I describe the modern process of *bell casting.
1848Rickman Archit. 153 Sound-holes..are not used in the *bell-chamber.
1819Shelley Peter Bell vi, Like a crazed *bell-chime, out of tune.
1498Church-w. Acc. St. Dunstan's, Canterb., For makyng of new *belclappers..xiijs. iiijd. 1677Moxon Mech. Exerc. (1703) 14 Large Bell-clappers..and all thick strong Bars, etc.
1859Turner Dom. Archit. III. ii. vii. 338 A *bell-cot projecting from the face of the wall.
1877L. Jewitt Half-hrs. Eng. Antiq. 175 The Sanctus Bell..hung in a small *bell-cote at the apex of the gable.
1823J. Doddridge Dial. Backwoodsman & Dandy in Logan (1868), Your *bell crowned hat. 1854J. Stephens Centr. Amer. (1854) 18 A bell-crowned straw hat. 1910J. Farnol Broad Highway i. xvi. 86 It's precious lucky for you as you are a-wearin' that there bell-crowned 'at!
a1849J. C. Mangan Poems (1859) 308 From gloomy iron *bell-cups they drank the Saxon wine.
1874Chappell Hist. Music I. ix. 267 The *bell-ends of certain pipes.
1698J. Petiver in Phil. Trans. XX. 315 A large *Bell-fashioned cinereous Calyx.
1549Latimer Serm. bef. Edw. VI (Arb.) 135 Preachers, not *Belhalowers.
1883Harper's Mag. Jan. 208/1 The smoke..escaped up a big *bell-hooded flue.
1870Morris Earthly Par. II. iii. 145 The *bell-hung bridle-rein.
1836Dickens Sk. Boz, The *bell-lamp in the passage.
1769Sir J. Hill Fam. Herbal (1789) 307 The flowers are..of a *bell-like shape. 1865Boyle Dyaks Borneo 56 Sending forth his clear bell-like challenge.
1764in Phil. Trans. LIV. 213 In the *bell-loft at St. Bride's.
c1400Destr. Troy v. 1589 *Belmakers, bokebynders, brasiers fyn. 1483Cath. Angl. 27 A Belle maker, campanarius.
1837Marryat Dog-Fiend ii, The *bell-mouth of his speaking trumpet. 1896Daily News 29 May 6/7 The huge brass bellmouth apparatus fixed on the prompt side of the opera proscenium is an electrophone. 1930Engineering 4 Apr. 436/1 The lining at both extremities of the cutout ends, including the bell-mouth. 1958J. S. Scott Dict. Civ. Engin. 22 Bellmouth overflow, an overflow from a reservoir through a tower built up from the bed to the overflow level. 1967Jane's Surface Skimmer Systems 1967–68 106/1 There is a dam for solid water separation and four right angle turns before the air reaches the engine bellmouths.
1797J. Curr Coal Viewer 47 For the common engine..[cylinders] must be *bell-mouthed 1/4 of an inch on each side. 1823Byron Juan xiii. lxxii, His bell-mouth'd goblet makes me feel quite..Dutch with thirst. 1946Nature 2 Nov. 635/2 A bell-mouthed estuary.
1856Mrs. Browning Aur. Leigh 9 The very sky Dropping its *bell-net down upon the sea.
1881Greener Gun 6 The barrel is..*bell-nosed upon the outside.
1874Boutell Arms & Arm. iii. 55 One is a helm of a deep *bell shape.
1757Phil. Trans. L. 65 Campaniform or *bell-shaped flowers. 1879A. Bennett in Academy 32 The open bell-shaped mouth of the corolla.
1847Ld. Lindsay Chr. Art I. 22 The round towers of Ireland..are *bell-steeples.
1861T. Peacock Gryll Gr. 308 On the dreary midnight air Rolled the deep *bell toll.
1614Speed Theat. Gt. Brit. xxxiv. 67 Whose steeple or *bell-tower being both beautiful and high. 1879Sir G. Scott Lect. Archit. I. 258 The bell-tower..becomes the culminating ornament of the whole exterior.
e. poet.
1879G. M. Hopkins Poems (1918) 41 Cuckoo-echoing, bell-swarmèd, lark-charmèd. 1888― Poems (1918) 89 Bellbright bodies huddling out. 1889Yeats Wand. Oisin iii. 38, I gazed on the bell-branch, sleep's forebear. 1919W. de la Mare Flora 33 On the mirroring sands Bell-shrill the oyster-catchers. 1935W. Empson Poems 24 Drowned under flounces and bell-calm of trees. 1945W. de la Mare Burning-glass 75 Its secret bell-clear song.
12. Special combinations: bell-animalcules, -animals, English name for the Vorticellidæ, infusorial animalcules having a bell- or wine-glass-shaped body on a long flexible stalk; bell-binder, the large Wild Convolvulus or Bindweed; bell-bit, ‘the bit of a bridle made in the form of a bell’ (Halliw.); bell-boat, a boat with a bell freely suspended on it so as to ring as the vessel is moved by the waves, and thus give notice of danger; so bell-buoy, a buoy with a bell; bell-bottomed a., of trousers, having a considerable increase in width from below the knee to the bottom of the leg, giving a bell-shaped appearance; also, of an individual, esp. of a class accustomed to wear such trousers; bell-bottoms n. pl., bell-bottomed trousers; bell-bridle, a bridle hung or adorned with bells; bell captain U.S., one who supervises a group of bell-boys; bell cord, a cord to be pulled in order to ring a bell, spec. in a passenger vehicle; † bell-course, a race for a bell; bell-crank, a crank or species of lever adapted to communicate motion from one bell-wire to another lying at right angles to it; also attrib.; bell-crater Gr. Antiq., a bell-shaped bowl (see crater n. 1); † bell-dream, the sound or music of a bell; bell-faced (of a hammer), having the striking surface convex or rounded; bell-gable, a gable or turret in which bells are hung; bell-girdle, a girdle or belt hung or adorned with bells; bell-handle, the handle by which a bell-rope or bell-wire is pulled; bell-hanger, one whose business it is to put up bells, bell-wires, etc.; hence bell-hanging; bell-harp (see quot.); bell-heather, the cross-leaved heath, Erica tetralix (Jam.); bell-hop, -hopper U.S. and Canada, a hotel page-boy (cf. bell-boy 2); bell-horn, a horn which gives a bell-like tone; bell-horse, a horse wearing a bell or bells, esp. a horse adorned with bells, flowers, ribbons, etc. to celebrate the advent of May; the leading horse of a pack-train; hence bell-horse-day, the first of May; bell-jar, a bell-shaped glass jar used in chemical and physical laboratories; bell-less a., destitute of a bell; bell-mare, in herding mules on the prairies, a mare which wears a bell and acts as leader to the troop, etc.; † bell-melter, a bell-founder, a founder; bell-moth, a group of moths of the family Tortricidæ, named from their outline when at rest; bell-mouth v. trans., to furnish with a bell-mouth; bell-pepper, a species of Capsicum (C. grossum), so called from the shape of the fruit; bell-polype (= bell-animalcule); bell-pull, a cord or handle attached to a bell-wire, by pulling which the bell is rung; bell-punch (see quot. a 1884); bell-push, the button that is pushed to ring an electric bell; also, a table bell to be rung in this way; bell-rheometer, a bell-shaped instrument for measuring the strength of an electric current; bell-roof, a roof shaped like a bell; bell-rose, the daffodil (Somerset); bell-shade, a bell-shaped light-shade; bell-sheep Austral. (see quot.); bell-signal, a signal transmitted by the bell-telegraph; so bell-signalling (both disused); bell-skirt, a bell-shaped skirt of a garment; bell-sleeve, a long sleeve flared at the lower edge; bell-stone, the part of a column which lies between the shaft and the abacus (cf. 6 a); bell strap = bell cord (Funk, 1893); bell-string = bell-rope; bell-team, a team of horses adorned with bells; bell-telegraph, an instrument in which two bells are used to transmit a message, one indicating (by its tone) the movement of the needle to the right, the other, to the left (disused); bell-tent, a tent resembling a bell in shape; bell-top (see quot.); bell-topper, a ‘topper’, or top-hat, esp. one of old-fashioned type with a bell-shaped crown; bell-trap, a stench-trap resembling a bell in shape; bell-tubing, tubing through which a bell-wire is passed in order to protect it; † bell-vessel, a diving-bell; bell-ware (see quot.); bell-waver v. Sc., ‘to fluctuate, to be inconstant; applied to the mind’ (Jam.); bell-weight, a weight shaped somewhat like a bell; bell-wheel, the wheel to which an ordinary church-bell is attached, and by which it is swung; bell-wire, the wire by which a bell-pull is connected with the bell; † bell-yetter, a bell-founder (lit. ‘bell-pourer’). See also bell-bird, -flower, -founder, -glass, -house, -man, -metal, -rags, -ringer, -rope, -wether, -wort.
1875Med. Trainer & Gaz. 8 May 495/1 A species of Amphileptus has been observed to swallow—or rather envelope—a stalked *bell-animalcule (Vorticella). 1959J. Clegg Freshwater Life (ed. 2) v. 100 The Bell Animalcules, as the various species of Vorticella are popularly called, are found in dense masses at times.
1617Markham Caval. ii. 58 That bytt which we call the..Campanell or *Bell bytt.
1858in Merc. Mar. Mag. V. 253 A *Bell Boat has been placed just outside the bar.
1626Capt. Smith Accid. Yng. Seamen 32 To know wether she be..taper or *belbored.
1891Argus 5 Dec. 13/2 (Morris), The *bell-bottomed ballottee. 1904Daily Chron. 6 June 4/5 The crews were not less smart in..blue jackets and white bell-bottomed ducks. 1955‘Nevil Shute’ Requiem for Wren 83 A naval cutter manned by two Wrens in jerseys and bell-bottomed trousers.
1898J. D. Brayshaw Slum Silhouettes 220 They 'ad a crease right dahn 'em, an' *bell bottoms. 1929Daily News 10 Apr. 7/3 An official [of the Admiralty] said: ‘..Bell-bottoms are the Navy. Abolish them and you abolish the Navy.’
1838E. Flagg Far West in R. G. Thwaites Early Western Trav. (1908) XXVI. 52 The hated clang of the *bell-boy [sic] was soon after heard..throughout the cabins. 1884Bell-buoy [see buoy n. 1]. a1910‘O. Henry’ Trimmed Lamp (1916) 60 A pale-faced, fat man huskily enveloped him with a raised, red fist, and the voice of a bell buoy.
1836Marryat Midsh. Easy (1863) 143 Two fine mules with *bell bridles.
1926Sat. Rev. Lit. 20 Nov. 315 His experienced demeanor among hotel porters and ticket agents and..*Bell Captains. 1944Reader's Digest Mar. 108 The coruscating bell captain commands an army of bell-boys.
1843Knickerbocker XXI. 332 He found no *bell-cord to pull. 1875Chicago Tribune 2 July 8/1 When a half-drunken man has hold of the bell-cord instead of the strap to steady himself by.
1617Markham Caval. i. 12, I haue seene them vsed at our English *Bell-courses.
1884F. J. Britten Watch & Clockm. 32 *Bell Crank Lever..a lever whose two arms form a right angle.
1921Brit. Mus. Return 61 *Bell-crater, late red-figure style. 1939Pendlebury Archaeol. Crete vi. 309 The bell-kraters are deeper and less swelling.
c1200Ormin 922 Þe *belledræm bitacneþþ ȝuw..dræm þatt ȝuw birrþ herenn.
1845Gloss. Goth. Arch. I. 54 In small churches and chapels that have no towers, there is very frequently a *bell-gable or turret at the west end in which the bells are hung.
1831Carlyle Sart. Res. i. v. 39 Whether he..tower up in high headgear, from amid peaks, spangles and *bell-girdles.
1765Tucker Lt. Nat. I. 387 A *bell-handle hanging by your chimney side.
1540in W. H. Turner Select. Records of Oxford (1880) 160 John Payne, *bellehanger. 1789E. Sheridan Jrnl. (1960) 180, I have scribbled thus far in the midst of the noise of Bell-hangers who are rectifying all negligence of our predecessors. 1791in Harper's Mag. Mar. 1885. 534/2 Pd a bell hanger on a/c 5s. 1851W. Irving in Life IV. 71 Plumbers and bellhangers [are] to attack the vitals of the house.
1798W. Hutton Autobiog. 17 One of them played upon the *bell-harp. 1815Encycl. Brit. (ed. 5) X. 277/1 Bell-Harp, a musical instrument of the string kind, thus called from the common players on it swinging it about, as a bell on its basis.
1910Ade I knew him When 14 He is not a *bell hop—the boys used to dress like that. 1919D. L. Cady Rhymes Vermont Rural Life (1923) 99 The traveler saw no bellhops hop. 1925A. Loos Gentlemen prefer Blondes (1926) 83 The boy friend of ours who is the bell hop, waked me up at ten o'clock.
1900Ade More Fables 5 When he got back to his Room the *Bell-Hopper came round and asked him if he cared to Sit in a Quiet Game.
1622Fletcher Beggars' B. iii. iv, Rouse ye the lofty stag, and with my *bell-horn Ring him a knell.
1775Adair Amer. Ind. 337 But they [sc. the Choctaw Indians]..stole one of the *bell horses. 1891Harper's Mag. Nov. 890/1 The pack trains consisted of a ‘bell-horse’ and boy, and six horses following.
1878Huxley Physiogr. 77 These bubbles may be..collected in the *bell-jar.
1667Waterhouse Fire Lond. 87 The tops of Steeples *Belless.
1859Marcy Prairie Trav. iv. 101 A *bell-mare, to which the mules soon become so attached that they will follow her wherever she goes.
1604Supplic. Masse-priests §10 note, Popes, Monkes, or Friars, the originall *belmelters of Poperie.
1841E. Newman Hist. Insects iv. ii. 214 *Bell-moths..with filiform antennæ.
1880Encycl. Brit. XII. 463/2 It is often desirable to *bell-mouth the ends of pipes.
1707Sloane Jamaica I. 241 *Bell Pepper. The fruit is large..somewhat shaped like a bell. 1832Veg. Subst. Food 314 The Bell Pepper..a biennial..native of India.
1832Miss Mitford Village Ser. iii. (1863) 496 The *bell-pull was within reach: but she had an aversion to ringing the bell. 1846Lytton Lucretia (1853) 185 Beside the door..a row of some ten or twelve bell-pulls. 1865Cornh. Mag. XI. 167 A pair of large tassels with loops of cord-like bell-pulls.
1877Bartlett Dict. Amer. 253 Gong-Punch, an instrument used by conductors [etc.]..a *bell-punch. a1884Knight Dict. Mech. Suppl., Bell Punch, a hand-punch, for perforating a ticket or trip slip. It secures the piece punched out, and rings a bell; in some instruments it also registers the fares collected. 1894Westm. Gaz. 26 Sept. 2/2 Thanks to the bell-punch, the number of passengers carried can now be estimated with tolerable accuracy.
1884D. P. Heap Report Internat. Exhib. Electricity, Paris 1881 26 This little battery..is contained in the ordinary *bell-push. 1887Cassell's Fam. Mag. 703/2 An indicating disc, which by its vibrations tells the bell push..of the person who has rung up. 1921Blackw. Mag. June 739/2 Pressing the bell-push to call the steward.
1876Gwilt Archit. 1195 *Bell Roof..is often called an ogee roof, from its form.
1890W. J. Gordon Foundry 140 At one chair here some large *bell-shades for lamps are being made.
1900Lawson On Track (1945) xvi. 99 He times himself to get so many sheep out of the pen before the bell goes [for breakfast or dinner], and one more—the ‘*bell-sheep’— as it is ringing.
1905Westm. Gaz. 19 Apr. 8/1 He announced the fact..by sending to him the block telegraph *bell-signal ‘Vehicles running away on right line’. 1905Daily Chron. 16 Nov. 7/3 Bell-signalling between torpedo craft and submarines in night-time.
a1910‘O. Henry’ Strictly Business xx, The latest thing in suitings with side vents and *bell skirt. 1940W. Empson Gathering Storm 35 One swing of the bell skirt.
1892Daily News 26 Oct. 2/1 The ‘*bell’ sleeves are turned back with white silk. 1960C. W. Cunnington et al. Dict. Eng. Costume 15/1 Bell sleeve, second half 19th c. Close-fitting to mid-forearm and there expanding into a bell-shaped opening.
1522–4Church-w. Acc. St. Dunstan's, Canterb., For mendyng of the *bellstoke viijd.
1851Ruskin Stones Ven. I. ix. §vi, [The] treatment of the capital depends simply on the manner in which this *bell stone is prepared.
1922Joyce Ulysses 219 The conductor pulled the *bellstrap.
1464in Ripon Ch. Acts 222 Le *bell strynges sunt defectiva.
1824Miss Mitford Village Ser. i. (1863) 199 Walking..by the side of his *bell-team.
a1877Knight Dict. Mech., *Bell-telegraph,..invented by Sir Charles Bright.
1785Roy in Phil. Trans. LXXV. 393 One of the pyramidal *bell-tents..being placed at the station.
c1850Rudim. Navig. (Weale) 96 *Bell-top, a term applied to the top of a quarter-gallery when the upper stool is hollowed away.
1858W. Kelly Life in Victoria I. xvi. 268 *Bell-topper was the derisive name given by diggers to [an] old style hat, supposed to indicate the dandy swell. Ibid., Merchants ventured to the Chamber of Commerce in the regular British ‘bell-topper’, some of the nattier going the length of sporting kid gloves. 1871Fav. Reciter (Simpkin) 6 A bell-topper hat. 1888B. L. Farjeon Miser Farebrother II. i. 3 On his head the shiniest of belltoppers. 1936I. L. Idriess Cattle King xxxi. 274 Sitting next to him was a ‘swell’ whose belltopper Kidman was quietly admiring.
1876Gwilt Archit. §2218 b, The usual iron *bell trap, as supplied to a sink.
1881Mechanic §1540. 692 It is usual..to provide for the passage of the bell wires from floor to floor by inserting *bell-tubing in the walls.
1816Chron. in Ann. Reg. 93/1 The *bell-vessel was..lowered with Fisher and two other men..in 33 feet of water.
1812Agric. Surv. Caithn. 182 (Jam.) *Bell-ware..is the kelp weed along the Scottish shores.
1820Scott Monast. vii, ‘I doubt me his wits have gone a *bell-wavering.’
1743Phil. Trans. XLII. 552 Pound *Bell-Weights, and the single Pound flat Weight.
1529Church-w. Acc. St. Dunstan's, Canterb., For mendyng of the *belwhele, xd.
1759Phil. Trans. LI. 288 The *Bell-wire, coming from the parlour below. 1865N. Arnott Elem. Physics ii. 445 Bell-wires too slack in summer, may be of the proper length in winter.
c1440Promp. Parv. 30 *Bellȝetare, campanarius. 1881J. Briscoe Nottinghamsh. 118 The bellyetters trade has now found its way..into the hands of a few great firms.
Add:[IV.] [12.] bell curve, a graph of a normal (Gaussian) distribution; also fig.
1970Balance Sheet Oct. 64/2 Research may be used to classify the effort into three basic methods:..(2) through use of the normal distribution hypothesis (*bell curve) [etc.]. 1973T. Pynchon Gravity's Rainbow i. 51 Exit doors painted beige, but with edges smudged browner in bell-curves of farewell by the generation of hands. 1978Pasachoff & Kutner University Astron. iv. 96 If the errors are purely random, then this plot will look like a Gaussian distribution (also called a normal or bell curve).
bells and whistles colloq. [as on a fairground organ], attractive additional features or trimmings, esp. in Computing.
1977Byte July 122/2 This simple circuit..even has a few outputs that can be used to provide user defined functions, such as enabling external devices or turning on *bells and whistles. 1983Austral. Personal Computer Dec. 82/3, 1-2-3 has a full complement of the usual bells and whistles... Column widths can be varied, cells protected, screen split in two, models split, merged and printed. 1984Sunday Times 26 Aug. 49/1 There are more than 600 microsystems on the market so it is hardly surprising that the manufacturers have taken to hanging a few bells and whistles on to their machines to get them noticed.
▪ II. bell, n.2
[Belongs to bell v.2 The actual history is uncertain. (It may be only a fig. use of bell n.1, from its shape.)]
The strobile, cone, or catkin, containing the female flowers of the hop.
1594Plat Jewell-ho. i. 43 His hops are more kindly, and the bels of them much larger. 1727Bradley Fam. Dict. s.v. Hop, About August the Hop will begin to be in the Bell or Button.
▪ III. bell, n.3
[Etymology obscure: identical in meaning with Mod.Du. bel, which, with the accompanying MDu. vb. bellen ‘to bubble up,’ is considered by Franck to have arisen out of MDu. bulle (ad. L. bulla bubble in water) under the influence of wellen to well or boil up; but in presence of the existence of the vb. and n. in Eng. this seems doubtful.]
A bubble formed in a liquid. (The ordinary word for ‘bubble’ in modern Scotch, whence occasional in English literature.)
1483Cath. Angl. 27/1 A belle in þe water, bulla. 1530Palsgr. 197/2 Bell of snevyll at ones nose, rovpie. 1533Elyot Cast. Helth (1541) 88 Sometyme belles or bobles. 1576J. Woolton Chr. Manual 109 Mans life flieth away..as the bells which bubble up in the water. 1743Davidson æneid vii. 203 In Frisky Bells the Liquors dance. 1815Scott Guy M. xxvi, The twinkling of a fin, the rising of an air-bell. 1872Black Adv. Phaeton vi. 75 Bells of air in a champagne glass.
▪ IV. bell, n.4
[f. bell v.4]
The cry of a stag or buck at rutting time.[The first quot. is possibly the verb.] 1510Inscr. Wharncliffe Lodge, Sheffield, For his plesor to here the Hartes bel. 1862C. Collyns Chase Red Deer iii, What I had heard was the ‘bell’ of the stag. 1865Boyle Dyaks Borneo 56 Few people in England know the melody of a wild buck's bell.
▪ V. † bell, v.1 Obs.|bɛl|
pa. pple. bollen.
[Of doubtful origin; apparently repr. OE. belᵹan, pa. pple. bolᵹen to swell, be proud or angry = OHG. belgan to swell; the total loss of the guttural presents difficulties, but occurs also in ME. boln-e(n, a. ON. bolgna, Da. bolne to swell. Cf. also bolled.]
intr. To swell up (like a boil).
a1225Ancr. R. 282 Auh heorte to-bollen and to-swollen, and ihouen on heih ase hul. A bleddre ibollen ful of winde. c1320Sir Beves 2655 His flesch gan ranclen and te belle. 1664in Pepys Diary (1876) III. 96 [Charm against a thorn] Jesus..Was pricked both with nail and thorn; It neither wealed, nor belled, rankled, nor boned. Ibid. [Another] And he was pricked with a thorn; And it did neither bell, nor swell.
b. fig. To be puffed up or proud.
1382Wyclif 2 Tim. iii. 4 Men schulen be..bollun with proude thouȝtis. c1450Compl. Lover's Life 101 Hyt wolde aswage Bollyn hertes.
▪ VI. bell, v.2
[Cf. bell n.2, from which the vb. is prob. formed.]
intr. Of hops: To be, begin to be, in bell.
1574R. Scot Hop Gard. (1578) 33 At Saint Margarets daye Hoppes blowe, and at Lammas they bell. 1669W[orlidge] Syst. Agric. (1681) 150 marg., When Hops Blow, Bell, and Ripen. 1753Chambers Cycl. Supp. s.v. Belling, Hops blow towards the end of July, and bell the latter end of August. 1819Rees Cycl., Belling of hops, denotes their opening and expanding to their customary shape.
▪ VII. bell, v.3 Obs. exc. dial.
[This goes with bell n.3, being identical with MDu. bellen to bubble up, as the n. is with mod.Du. bel bubble.]
intr. To bubble.
1598Florio, Vena di fontana..the belling or rising vp of water out of a spring. 1822Hogg Perils Man II. 44 (Jam.) The blood bells through.
▪ VIII. bell, v.4|bɛl|
Also 5 belle, 6 bel, beale, 9 dial. beal.
[OE. bellan str. vb., to roar, bark, bellow = OHG. bellan, mod.G. bellen to bark; cf. ON. belja to bellow. Cf. bellow.]
1. intr. To bellow, roar, make a loud noise.
a1000Riddles xli. 106 (Gr.) Amasted swin, bearᵹ bellende on boc-wuda. a1300W. de Biblesworth in Promp. Parv. 30 note, Tor torreye..bole belleth. c1350Will. Palerne 1891 Þe werwolf..went to him evene bellyng as a bole. c1384Chaucer H. Fame 1803 He gan to blasen out a soun, As loude as belleth winde in Hell. c1440Promp. Parv. 30 Bellyn, or lowyn, as nette, mugio. 1570Levins Manip. 207 To Beale, boare. 1589Gold. Mirr. (1851) 3 Which rored and beld, in th' eares of some. 1872Browning Fifine lxxv. 27 You acted part so well, went all fours upon earth..brayed, belled.
2. spec. of the voice of deer in rutting time.
1486Bk. St. Albans E v a, Iche Roobucke certayne bellis by kynde. 1610J. Guillim Heraldry iii. xiv. (1660) 166 You shall say, a Roe Belleth. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1862) I. ii. v. 324 When the stag cries, he is said to bell. 1808Scott Marm. iv. xv, The wild buck bells from ferny brake. 1875‘Stonehenge’ Brit. Sports i. i. x. §8. 133 We start them [the hinds], and they go on belling.
3. trans. To utter loudly, to bellow forth.
1596Spenser Astroph. Eclog. 21 Their leaders bell their bleating tunes In doleful sound. 1868Browning Ring & Book viii. 1400 Bell us forth deep the authoritative bay.
▪ IX. bell, v.5
[f. bell n.1]
1. trans. To furnish with a bell. to bell the cat: to hang a bell round the cat's neck, according to the Fable (see bell n.1 9), and esp.
a. to perform personally this hazardous feat, to undertake a perilous part or be the ring-leader in any movement.
In the latter use, there is immediate reference to the story or legend, related by Lindsay of Pitscottie, that when certain of the Scottish barons formed a secret conspiracy to put down the obnoxious favourites of James III. in 1482, a moment of grave suspense followed the inquiry ‘Who would undertake to enter the royal presence and seize the victims?’ which was terminated by the exclamation of Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus, ‘I will bell the cat,’ whence his historical appellation of ‘Archibald Bell-the-cat.’
1762J. Man Buchanan's Hist. Scot. xii. §41. 349 note, Earl Archbald hearing the parable answered sadly, I shall bell the cat, meaning Cochrane, the great and terrible minion. 1791D'Israeli Cur. Lit. (1858) 169/2 He would be glad to see who would bell the cat, alluding to the fable. 1840Arnold Life & Corr. (1844) II. ix. 186, I was willing to bell the cat, hoping that some who were able might take up what I had begun. 1861Hughes Tom Brown Oxf. I. xii. 232 As nobody was afraid of him, there was no difficulty in finding the man to bell the cat.
b. To venture to grapple or contend with (a dangerous opponent). Sc.
1721Wodrow Hist. Ch. Scot. II. 384 (Jam.) How little justice..poor simple country people, who could not bell the cat with them, had to look for. 1825Scott Betrothed Introd. (1876) 19 It has fallen on me, as we Scotsmen say, to bell-the-cat with you.
2. a. trans. To cause to swell or bulge out.
1870Eng. Mech. 11 Feb. 535/2 He must bell them [tubes] out a little.
b. intr. with out. To spread out like the mouth of a bell. So belled-out ppl. a.
1922Blackw. Mag. June 731/2 The skirt belled out like an inverted campanula bloom. 1959New Scientist 11 June 1291/1 Shafts can be dug, ‘belled out’ at the base to get a larger load bearing area. Ibid. 1291/2 A concrete cylinder with a ‘belled out’ foot.
3. (nonce-wd.)
1863Dickens Mrs. Lirriper's Lodgings i. They [servant girls] get bell'd off their legs [i.e. ‘run off their legs’ in answering bells]. |