The word “coffee” entered the English language in 1582 via the Dutch “koffie,” borrowed from the Ottoman Turkish “kahve,” borrowed in turn from the Arabic “qahwah.” The Arabic word qahwah was traditionally held to refer to a type of wine.
KNELL
knell
(noun) the sound of a bell rung slowly to announce a death or a funeral or the end of something
ring, knell
(verb) make (bells) ring, often for the purposes of musical edification; “Ring the bells”; “My uncle rings every Sunday at the local church”
knell
(verb) ring as in announcing death
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Verb
knell (third-person singular simple present knells, present participle knelling, simple past and past participle knelled)
(intransitive) To ring a bell slowly, especially for a funeral; to toll.
(transitive) To signal or proclaim something (especially a death) by ringing a bell.
(transitive) To summon by, or as if by, ringing a bell.
Noun
knell (plural knells)
The sound of a bell knelling; a toll (particularly one signalling a death).
(figuratively) A sign of the end or demise of something or someone.
Proper noun
Knell (plural Knells)
A surname.
Statistics
• According to the 2010 United States Census, Knell is the 21568th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 1210 individuals. Knell is most common among White (94.05%) individuals.
Source: Wiktionary
Knell, n. Etym: [OE. knel, cnul, AS. cnyll, fr. cnyllan to sound a bell; cf. D. & G. knallen to clap, crack, G. & Sw. knall a clap, crack, loud sound, Dan. knalde to clap, crack. Cf. Knoll, n. & v.]
Definition: The stoke of a bell tolled at a funeral or at the death of a person; a death signal; a passing bell; hence, figuratively, a warning of, or a sound indicating, the passing away of anything. The dead man's knell Is there scarce asked for who. Shak. The curfew tolls the knell of parting day. Gray.
Knell, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Knelled; p. pr. & vb. n. Knelling.] Etym: [OE. knellen, knillen, As. cnyllan. See Knell, n.]
Definition: To sound as a knell; especially, to toll at a death or funeral; hence, to sound as a warning or evil omen. Not worth a blessing nor a bell to knell for thee. Beau. & Fl. Yet all that poets sing, and grief hath known, Of hopes laid waste, knells in that word, "alone". Ld. Lytton.
Knell, v. t.
Definition: To summon, as by a knell. Each matin bell, the baron saith, Knells us back to a world of death. Coleridge.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
29 March 2025
THOUGHTLESS
(adjective) without care or thought for others; “the thoughtless saying of a great princess on being informed that the people had no bread; ‘Let them eat cake’”
Coffee Trivia
