| 释义 |
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024knell /nɛl/USA pronunciation n. [countable]- the sound made by a bell rung slowly, esp. for a death or a funeral.
- an indication of the end or failure of something:The death knell of Western Communism was the collapse of the Berlin Wall.
v. - [no object] (of a bell) to sound, as at a funeral.
- [no object] to give forth a mournful or warning sound.
- [~ + object] to proclaim or summon by or as if by a bell.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024knell (nel),USA pronunciation n. - the sound made by a bell rung slowly, esp. for a death or a funeral.
- a sound or sign announcing the death of a person or the end, extinction, failure, etc., of something:the knell of parting day.
- any mournful sound.
v.i. - to sound, as a bell, esp. a funeral bell.
- to give forth a mournful, ominous, or warning sound.
v.t. - to proclaim or summon by, or as if by, a bell.
- bef. 950; (noun, nominal) Middle English knel, Old English cynll; (verb, verbal) Middle English knellen, knyllen, Old English cynllan; cognate with Old Norse knylla to beat, strike; akin to Dutch knal bang, knallen to bang, German Knall explosion, knallen to explode
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: knell /nɛl/ n - the sound of a bell rung to announce a death or a funeral
- something that precipitates or indicates death or destruction
vb - (intransitive) to ring a knell
- (transitive) to proclaim or announce by or as if by a tolling bell
Etymology: Old English cnyll; related to Middle High German knüllen to strike, Dutch knallen to bang |