handbell

H4A1N1D2B3E1L1L1

noun

A small bell designed to be rung by hand.

OriginMiddle English handbelle ← Old English handbelle →
UncommonScrabble 14
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Meanings

nounhandbell (plural handbells)

plural handbells

  1. entertainmentA small bell designed to be rung by hand.

    The bell sounded. It was a hand-bell, rung by a boy in the next class-room.

    1956, Anthony Burgess, Time for a Tiger (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 58

Origin

  1. Old Englishhandbelle“handbell”
  2. Middle Englishhandbelle
  3. Englishhandbell

From Middle English handbelle, hande belle, from Old English handbelle (“handbell”). By surface analysis, hand + bell.

More words from Middle English, Old English

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic نَاقُوس
  • نَاقُوس (nāqūs)small bell rung by hand
Chinese Mandarin 手搖鈴 /手摇铃
  • 手搖鈴 /手摇铃 (shǒuyáolíng)small bell rung by hand
Finnish käsikello
  • käsikellosmall bell rung by hand
French cloche à main, sonnette
  • cloche à mainsmall bell rung by hand
  • sonnettesmall bell rung by hand
German Handglocke
  • Handglockesmall bell rung by hand
Hungarian csengettyű
  • csengettyűsmall bell rung by hand
Italian campanello
  • campanellosmall bell rung by hand
Japanese ハンドベル
  • ハンドベル (handoberu)small bell rung by hand
Korean 핸드벨
  • 핸드벨 (haendeubel)small bell rung by hand
Polish dzwonek z rączką
  • dzwonek z rączkąsmall bell rung by hand
Portuguese campainha
  • campainhasmall bell rung by hand
Russian колоко́льчик
  • колоко́льчик (kolokólʹčik)small bell rung by hand
Spanish campanilla
  • campanillasmall bell rung by hand
Cite this entry
APA

handbell. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/handbell

MLA

“handbell.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/handbell. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “handbell,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/handbell.

Source: handbell on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.