What is "bell"

Bell \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.

   Note: Bells have been made of various metals, but the best have always been, as now, of an alloy of copper and tin.

   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.''

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

3. Anything in the form of a bell, as the cup or corol of a flower. ``In a cowslip's bell I lie.''
   --Shak.

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.

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

   Note: 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.

   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.

   Note: 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.

   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.

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

2. To make bell-mouthed; as, to bell a tube.

Bell \Bell\, v. i. To develop bells or corollas; to take the form of a bell; to blossom; as, hops bell.

Bell \Bell\, v. t. [AS. bellan. See Bellow.] To utter by bellowing. [Obs.]

Bell \Bell\, v. i. To call or bellow, as the deer in rutting time; to make a bellowing sound; to roar.

As loud as belleth wind in hell.
--Chaucer.

The wild buck bells from ferny brake.
--Sir W. Scott.

Old English belle, common North Sea Germanic (cognates: Middle Dutch belle, Middle Low German belle) but not found elsewhere in Germanic (except as a borrowing), from PIE root *bhel- (4) "to sound, roar." Statistical bell curve was coined 1870s in French. Of glasses in the shape of a bell from 1640s. Bell pepper is from 1707, so called for its shape. Bell, book, and candle is a reference to a form of excommunication. To ring a bell "awaken a memory" (1934) is perhaps a reference to Pavlovian experiments.

"attach a bell to," late 14c., from bell (n.). Related: Belled; belling. Allusions to the story of the mice that bell the cat (so they can hear him coming) date to 1520s.

Etymology 1 n. 1 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. 2 The sounding of a bell as a signal. vb. 1 (context transitive English) To attach a bell to. 2 To shape so that it flares out like a bell. 3 (context slang transitive English) To telephone. 4 (context intransitive English) To develop bells or corollas; to take the form of a bell; to blossom. Etymology 2

n. The bellow or bay of certain animals, such as a hound on the hunt or a stag in rut. vb. (context intransitive English) To bellow or roar.

v. attach a bell to; "bell cows"

1. n. a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck

2. a push button at an outer door that gives a ringing or buzzing signal when pushed [syn: doorbell, buzzer]

3. the sound of a bell being struck; "saved by the bell"; "she heard the distant toll of church bells" [syn: toll]

4. (nautical) each of the eight half-hour units of nautical time signaled by strokes of a ship's bell; eight bells signals 4:00, 8:00, or 12:00 o'clock, either a.m. or p.m. [syn: ship's bell]

5. the shape of a bell [syn: bell shape, campana]

6. a phonetician and father of Alexander Graham Bell (1819-1905) [syn: Melville Bell, Alexander Melville Bell]

7. English painter; sister of Virginia Woolf; prominent member of the Bloomsbury Group (1879-1961) [syn: Vanessa Bell, Vanessa Stephen]

8. United States inventor (born in Scotland) of the telephone (1847-1922) [syn: Alexander Bell, Alexander Graham Bell]

9. a percussion instrument consisting of vertical metal tubes of different lengths that are struck with a hammer [syn: chime, gong]

10. the flared opening of a tubular device

A bell is a percussion instrument, usually cup-shaped.

Bell may also refer to:

A bell is a simple idiophone percussion instrument. Although bells come in many forms, most are made of metal cast in the shape of a hollow cup, whose sides form a resonator which vibrates in a single tone upon being struck. The strike may be made by a "clapper" or "uvula" suspended within the bell, by a separate mallet or hammer, or—in small bells—by a small loose sphere enclosed within the body of the bell.

Bells are usually made by casting metal, but small bells can also be made from ceramic or glass. Bells range in size from tiny dress accessories to church bells 5 metres tall, weighing many tons. Historically, bells were associated with religious rituals, and before mass communication were widely used to call communities together for both religious and secular events. Later, bells were made to commemorate important events or people and have been associated with the concepts of peace and freedom. The study of bells is called campanology.

A set of bells, hung in a circle for change ringing, is known as a ring or peal of bells.

A set of 23 bells spanning at least two octaves is a carillon.

Bell is an island platformed METRORail light rail station in Houston, Texas, United States. The station was opened on January 1, 2004 and is operated by the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas (METRO). Located in Downtown Houston this station is located at the intersection of Main Street and Bell Street. This is the 4th station heading south along the rail line.

Bell (sometimes known as John Bell) is a serif typeface designed in 1788 by Richard Austin. It is considered an early example of the Scotch Roman style, a style featuring stylish contrasts between thick and thin strokes and ball terminals on many letters. After a short initial period of popularity, the face fell into disuse until it was revived in the 1930s, after which it enjoyed an enduring acceptance as a text face.

The Bell is a British 3-wheeled cyclecar that was made in 1920 by W.G. Bell of Rochester, Kent.

The car was a three-wheeler with the single wheel at the front and was powered by a JAP or Precision engine. The cars were advertised, but it is not certain that series production ever started.

Bell is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, just past the western limb. It lies in an area of terrain that is marked by many small craters, a number of which are satellite craters of Bell listed in the table below. Bell lies within two crater diameters of Laue to the north, and to the west of the smaller Helberg.

The outer wall of Bell has been worn, eroded, and somewhat reshaped by subsequent impacts. The satellite crater Bell Q lies across the southwest rim, and smaller craters lie across the rim to the north and the east. The interior floor is relatively level, and marked by the crater Bell E which is offset to the east of the midpoint.

Bell is a surname with several word-origins.

In some cases, the surname is derived from the Middle English bell. This surname likely originated as an occupational name for a bell ringer or bell maker; or else from a topographic name for someone who lived by an actual bell, or by a house sign or inn sign. In other cases, the surname Bell is derived from the mediaeval personal name Bel. The masculine form of this personal name is derived from the Old French beu, bel ("handsome"); the feminine form of the name represents a short form of Isobel. In some cases, the surname originates from a nickname, or descriptive name, derived from the Old French bel ("beautiful", "fair"). In other cases, the surname Bell represents an English form of the Gaelic surname Mac Giolla Mhaoil ("son of the servant of the devotee"). The surname Bell is also sometimes an Americanized form of like-sounding Jewish surnames. In some cases, the surname is derived from a placenames in Norway (Bell) and Germany (Bell in Rhineland; and possibly Belle, in Westphalia). The surname Bell is also sometimes an Anglicized form of the German Böhl or Böll.

Early attested forms of the surname when of a patronymic origin include: Ailuuardus "filius Belli", in 1086; Ricardus "filius Bell", in 1279; and Osbertus "filius Belle", in 1297. Early attested forms of the surname, when originating from an occupational name include: Seaman "Belle", in 1181–1187; and Serlo "Belle", in 1190. An early attested form of the surname when originating from someone who lived near a sign of a bell is: John "atte Belle", in 1332. Early attested forms of the surname when originating from nickname include: Hugo "bel" in 1148; and Robertus "bellus", and Robert "le bel", both in 1186–1200. Today the surname Bell can be found in many parts of the world. It is the 67th most popular surname in the United States and the 36th most common surname in Scotland.

Bell, also known as PhoneSat 1.0b or PhoneSat v1b was a technology demonstration satellite operated by NASA's Ames Research Center, which was launched in April 2013. Part of the PhoneSat programme, it was one of the first three PhoneSat spacecraft to be launched.

A PhoneSat-1.0 satellite, Bell was built to the single-unit (1U) CubeSat specification, and measures in each dimension. The satellite is based on an off-the-shelf HTC Nexus One smartphone which serves in place of an onboard computer and avionics system. Unlike the more advanced PhoneSat-2.0 spacecraft, Bell is powered by non-rechargeable batteries, and has no attitude control system, however onboard sensors can be used to determine and monitor the satellite's attitude. The cameras built into the phones aboard Bell and its sister satellite Graham have been used to return images of the Earth from space.

Unlike Graham, Bell has an external Iridium modem attached to one of its side. Independent battery can supply power for the modem for 2–3 days.

Bell was named after Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone. The two other PhoneSat spacecraft launched aboard the same rocket were named Alexander and Graham. The three PhoneSat spacecraft, along with the commercial Dove 1 satellite, were launched as secondary payloads aboard the maiden flight of the Antares carrier rocket; flight A-ONE. The primary payload was the Cygnus Mass Simulator.

Liftoff occurred at 21:00 UTC on 21 April 2013, from Pad 0A of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, following attempts on 17 and 20 April which had been scrubbed due to an umbilical problem and high-level winds respectively. The launch was conducted by Orbital Sciences Corporation, however the CubeSats were launched under a contract with Spaceflight Services, using dispensers produced by ISIS. Alexander, Graham and Bell were deployed from a single ISIPod dispenser, while Dove 1 was deployed from a second such dispenser.

On 27 April 2013 the satellite was confirmed to have burned up in the atmosphere, with instruments still running up until then.