prayer belln.
/ˈprɛː bɛl/, U.S. /ˈprɛr ˌbɛl/ A bell rung to call people to prayer, a church bell; a bell rung during prayer or a religious service.
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society > faith > worship > prayer > [noun] > bell summoning to
prayer bell1416
1416 in G. Hadley New & Compl. Hist. Kingston-upon-Hull (1788) 746 (MED) Yay wylle yat ye prayer bell be ronghen at sex atte clok atte morn, lastying ye tyme of yair prayers.
1568 (a1500) Freiris Berwik 76 in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS (1930) IV. 263 Wt þat thay hard þe prayer bell Off thair awin abbay.
1682 N. O. tr. N. Boileau-Despréaux Lutrin i. 34 They could smell The Kitchin Steams, though Deaf to th' Prayer-bell.
1768 J. Cremer Jrnl. 19 July in R. R. Bellany Ramblin' Jack (1936) 165 Theair prayer Bell was rung, and we went in once againe to the Chappell.
1805 ‘E. de Acton’ Nuns of Desert I. 249 The prayer bell was ordered to be rang.
1877 A. B. Edwards Thousand Miles up Nile xii. 327 Echoing to the measured chime of the prayer-bell at morn and even.
1893 E. Arnold Adzuma ii. v. 83 (stage-direct.) She..ascends the temple-stairs, sounds the prayer-bell, and stands awhile praying before the shrine.
1940 Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald Jrnl. 11 Aug. (Amer. Weekly Suppl.) 10/2 Promptly, at seven o'clock each night, Brigham would summon his big family by the measured toll of a prayer-bell.
1985 Chron.-Telegram (Elyria, Ohio) 7 Feb. High churches use holy water, prayer bells and a lot of fancy trappings.
2000 R. Barger et al. Hell's Angel vii. 124 Ginsberg took out his Tibetan silver prayer bells.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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