bell

n. [ AS. belle, fr. bellan to bellow. See Bellow. ] 1. A hollow metallic vessel, usually shaped somewhat like a cup with a flaring mouth, containing a clapper or tongue, and giving forth a ringing sound on being struck. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Bells have been made of various metals, but the best have always been, as now, of an alloy of copper and tin. [ 1913 Webster ]

The Liberty Bell, the famous bell of the Philadelphia State House, which rang when the Continental Congress declared the Independence of the United States, in 1776. It had been cast in 1753, and upon it were the words “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land, to all the inhabitants thereof.” [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A hollow perforated sphere of metal containing a loose ball which causes it to sound when moved. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Anything in the form of a bell, as the cup or corol of a flower. “In a cowslip's bell I lie.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Arch.) That part of the capital of a column included between the abacus and neck molding; also used for the naked core of nearly cylindrical shape, assumed to exist within the leafage of a capital. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. pl. (Naut.) The strikes of the bell which mark the time; or the time so designated. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ On shipboard, time is marked by a bell, which is struck eight times at 4, 8, and 12 o'clock. Half an hour after it has struck “eight bells” it is struck once, and at every succeeding half hour the number of strokes is increased by one, till at the end of the four hours, which constitute a watch, it is struck eight times. [ 1913 Webster ]

To bear away the bell, to win the prize at a race where the prize was a bell; hence, to be superior in something. Fuller. --
To bear the bell, to be the first or leader; -- in allusion to the bellwether or a flock, or the leading animal of a team or drove, when wearing a bell. --
To curse by bell,
book,
and candle, a solemn form of excommunication used in the Roman Catholic church, the bell being tolled, the book of offices for the purpose being used, and three candles being extinguished with certain ceremonies. Nares. --
To lose the bell, to be worsted in a contest. “In single fight he lost the bell.” Fairfax. --
To shake the bells, to move, give notice, or alarm. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Bell is much used adjectively or in combinations; as, bell clapper; bell foundry; bell hanger; bell-mouthed; bell tower, etc., which, for the most part, are self-explaining. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bell arch (Arch.), an arch of unusual form, following the curve of an ogee. --
Bell cage, or
Bell carriage (Arch.), a timber frame constructed to carry one or more large bells. --
Bell cot (Arch.), a small or subsidiary construction, frequently corbeled out from the walls of a structure, and used to contain and support one or more bells. --
Bell deck (Arch.), the floor of a belfry made to serve as a roof to the rooms below. --
Bell founder, one whose occupation it is to found or cast bells. --
Bell foundry, or
Bell foundery, a place where bells are founded or cast. --
Bell gable (Arch.), a small gable-shaped construction, pierced with one or more openings, and used to contain bells. --
Bell glass. See Bell jar. --
Bell hanger, a man who hangs or puts up bells. --
Bell pull, a cord, handle, or knob, connecting with a bell or bell wire, and which will ring the bell when pulled. Aytoun. --
Bell punch, a kind of conductor's punch which rings a bell when used. --
Bell ringer, one who rings a bell or bells, esp. one whose business it is to ring a church bell or chime, or a set of musical bells for public entertainment. --
Bell roof (Arch.), a roof shaped according to the general lines of a bell. --
Bell rope, a rope by which a church or other bell is rung. --
Bell tent, a circular conical-topped tent. --
Bell trap, a kind of bell shaped stench trap. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Belled p. pr. & vb. n. Belling. ] To put a bell upon; as, to bell the cat. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To make bell-mouthed; as, to bell a tube. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To call or bellow, as the deer in rutting time; to make a bellowing sound; to roar. [ 1913 Webster ]

As loud as belleth wind in hell. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

The wild buck bells from ferny brake. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To develop bells or corollas; to take the form of a bell; to blossom; as, hops bell. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ It., literally fine lady; bella beautiful + donna lady. ] (Bot.) (a) An herbaceous European plant (Atropa belladonna) with reddish bell-shaped flowers and shining black berries. The whole plant and its fruit are very poisonous, and the root and leaves are used as powerful medicinal agents. Its properties are largely due to the alkaloid atropine which it contains. Called also deadly nightshade. (b) A species of Amaryllis (Amaryllis belladonna); the belladonna lily. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Zool.) An infusorian of the family Vorticellidæ, common in fresh-water ponds. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A stoneware jug of a pattern originated in the neighborhood of Cologne, Germany, in the 16th century. It has a bearded face or mask supposed to represent Cardinal Bellarmine, a leader in the Roman Catholic Counter Reformation, following the Reformation; -- called also graybeard, longbeard. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

(Zool.) A Brazilian leaf hopper (Bocydium tintinnabuliferum), remarkable for the four bell-shaped appendages of its thorax. [ 1913 Webster ]