lowbell

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noun

A bell used in fowling at night, to frighten birds, and, with a sudden light, to make them fly into a net.

“c. 1700-1708, William King, Art of Love The fowler's lowbell robs the lark of sleep.”

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Meanings

nounlowbell (plural lowbells)

plural lowbells

  1. A bell used in fowling at night, to frighten birds, and, with a sudden light, to make them fly into a net.

    c. 1700-1708, William King, Art of Love The fowler's lowbell robs the lark of sleep.

  2. obsoleteA bell to be hung on the neck of a sheep or cow.

    […] take the lowbell […]; toll this bell just as a weather sheep does, while he is feeding in pasture ground […]

    1831, Thomas Burgeland Johnson, The Sportsman's Cyclopedia, page 527
    1 more example

    […] pipes and horns were sounded, together with lowbells [cow- or sheep-bell] and other smaller bells which the company had amongst them […]

    2009, Newton Key, Robert Bucholz, Sources and Debates in English History, 1485-1714, page 113

Origin

From low + bell. See low (“a flame”).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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