[bell] n [ME belle, fr. OE; perh. akin to OE bellan to roar--more at bellow] (bef. 12c) 1 a: a hollow metallic device that gives off a reverberating sound when struck b: doorbell
2. a: the sounding of a bell as a signal b: a stroke of a bell (as on shipboard) to indicate the time; also: the time so indicated c: a half hour period of a watch on shipboard indicated by the strokes of a bell
3: something having the form of a bell: as a: the corolla of a flower b: the part of the capital of a column between the abacus and neck molding c: the flared end of a wind instrument
4. a: a percussion instrument consisting of metal bars or tubes that when struck give out tones resembling bells--usu. used in pl. b: glockenspiel
[2]bell vt (14c) 1: to provide with a bell
2: to flare the end of (as a tube) into the shape of a bell ~ vi: to take the form of a bell: flare -- bell the cat : to do a daring or risky deed [3]bell vi [ME, fr. OE bellan] (bef. 12c): to make a resonant bellowing or baying sound "the wild buck ~s from ferny brake --Sir Walter Scott" [4]bell n (1862): bellow, roar