Bell

bel, n. a hollow ve el of metal, which gives forth a ringing sound when struck by the tongue or clapper suspended inside—as in church-bell , hand-bell , alarm-bell , night-bell , marriage-bell , .: a corolla shaped like a bell: the body of a Corinthian or composite capital, without the surrounding foliage: anything bell-shaped, as in diving-bell , bell-gla , the bell or outward-turned orifice of a trumpet, .: a bell rung to tell the hour: ( naut. ) the bell struck on shipboard every half-hour as many times as there are half-hours of the watch elapsed—'two bells,' 'three bells,' ., meaning that there are two or three half-hours past; the watch of four hours is eight bells.— v.t. to furnish with a bell, esp. in To bell the cat , to take the leading part in any hazardous movement, from the ancient fable of the mice who proposed to hang a warning bell round the cat's neck.— ns. Bell′cote ( arch it. ), an ornamental IMG:c168__Chambers_1908_Bell_Crank.png_utm_source_en.wiki source.org_utm_campaign_parser_utm_content_thumbnail:Chambers_1908_Bell_Crank.png-250px-Chambers_1908_Bell_Crank.png?utm_source=en.wiki source.org _campaign=parser _content=thumbnail structure made to contain one or two bells, and often crowned by a small spire; Bell′-crank , a rectangular lever in the form of a crank, used for changing the direction of bell-wires; Bell′-found′er , one who founds or casts bells; Bell′-gla , a bell-shaped gla for sheltering flowers; Bell′-hang′er , one who hangs and repairs bells; Bell′man , one who rings a bell, esp. on the streets, before making public announcements: a town-crier; Bell′-met′al , the metal of which bells are made—an alloy of copper and tin; Bell′-punch , a hand-punch containing a signal-bell, used for punching a hole in a ticket in order to keep a record of the number of fares taken; Bell′-ring′er , one whose busine it is to ring a bell on stated occasions: a performer with musical hand-bells; Bell′-rope , the rope by which a bell is rung.— adj. Bell′-shaped .— ns. Bell′-tow′er , a tower built to contain one or more bells, a campanile; Bell′-tur′ret , a turret containing a bell-chamber, usually crowned with a spire; Bell′-weth′er , the leading sheep of a flock, on whose neck a bell is hung: ( fig. ) any loud, turbulent fellow, esp. the leader of a mob.— Bell, book, and candle , a phrase popularly used in reference to a form of excommunication ending with the words, 'Do to [shut] the book, quench the candle, ring the bell.'— To bear or carry off the bell , to have or to gain the first place. [A.S. belle ; cog. with Dut. bel .]