Etymology

bell

B3E1L1L1

Today it means: A percussive instrument made of metal or other hard material, typically but not always in the shape of an inverted cup with a flared rim, which resonates when struck. Full definition →

Middle English belle ← Old English belle ← Proto-West Germanic *bellā
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

bell · noun, verb1

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰel-
  2. Proto-Germanic*bellǭ
  3. Proto-West Germanic*bellā
  4. Old Englishbelle
  5. Middle Englishbelle
  6. English todaybell

Inherited from Middle English belle, from Old English belle, from Proto-West Germanic *bellā, from Proto-Germanic *bellǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-. Cognate with West Frisian belle, bel (“bell”), Dutch bel (“bell”), Low German Belle, Bel (“bell”), Danish bjælde (“bell”), Faroese bjølla (“bell”), Icelandic bjalla (“bell”), Norwegian bjelle (“bell”), Swedish bjällra (“bell”).

bell · verb, noun2

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*bʰel-“to sound; roar; bark”
  2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*bellaną“to sound; roar; bark”
  3. Old English · inherited frombellan“to bellow; make a hollow noise; roar; bark; grunt”
  4. Middle English · inherited frombellen
  5. English todaybell

From Middle English bellen, from Old English bellan (“to bellow; make a hollow noise; roar; bark; grunt”), from Proto-Germanic *bellaną (“to sound; roar; bark”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to sound; roar; bark”). Cognate with Scots bell (“to shout; speak loudly”), Dutch bellen (“to ring”), German Low German bellen (“to ring”), German bellen (“to bark”), Swedish böla (“to low; bellow; roar”).

Words from the same roots

Middle Englishbelle all →

Bellas

Proto-Indo-European*bʰel- all →

bloodboldflamespellballoonflavorblazeblazerblushbleachbalebellowblemishblainblitheaflameCymbelineeffulgentBelenusbieldblikefilicologythrapple

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.