Where does “bells” come from?
Bells comes from Middle English belle, Old English bellan meaning to roar or sound, from Proto-Germanic bellǭ, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European bʰel-.
bells (English): plural of bell; API pl; Ship's bells; the strokes...
Definitions
- plural of bell; API pl; Ship's bells; the strokes...
Ancestry of “bells”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | bell | A percussive instrument made of metal or other... |
| 2 | Middle English | belle | — |
| 3 | Old English | belle | bell |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | bellā | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | bellǭ | bell |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰel- | to sound; to speak, roar, bark; shiny, white; to... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰōl- | — |