knell

Meaning

Verb

1. (intransitive) To ring a bell slowly, especially for a funeral; to toll.
2. (transitive) To signal or proclaim something (especially a death) by ringing a bell.
3. (transitive) To summon by, or as if by, ringing a bell.

Noun

1. The sound of a bell knelling; a toll (particularly one signalling a death).
2. (figuratively) A sign of the end or demise of something or someone.

Synonyms

ring

💍

strike

passing-bell

toll

peal

toast

death knell

funeral bell

funeral-knell

passing-knell

bell

🔔

tolling bell

chime

death bell

gong

Translations

glas

🔔

doble

Totenglocke

campana a morto

tocar a muerto

toque de difuntos

doodsklok

toc de mort

ηχώ πένθιμα

πένθιμη κωδωνοκρουσία

χτυπώ καμπάνα

χτυπώ πένθιμα

tocar a morts

Pronounced as (IPA)

/nɛl/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: knellen

Inherited from Old English: cnyllan

In summary

From Middle English knyllen, from Old English cnyllan (“to strike; knock; clap”), from Proto-West Germanic *knuʀlijan, from Proto-Germanic *knuzlijaną (“to beat; push; mash”), from Proto-Indo-European *gen- (“to squeeze, pinch, kink, ball up”).