KNELLING

Verb

knelling

present participle of knell

Noun

knelling (plural knellings)

The tolling of a bell.

Source: Wiktionary


KNELL

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



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Word of the Day

1 June 2025

BACKFIRE

(verb) come back to the originator of an action with an undesired effect; “Your comments may backfire and cause you a lot of trouble”; “the political movie backlashed on the Democrats”


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Coffee Trivia

The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.

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