knell
To ring a bell slowly, especially for a funeralTo ring a bell slowly, especially for a funeral; to toll.
» Your death knell has not sounded.
Meaning
3 senses(intransitive)To ring a bell slowly, especially for a funeral; to toll.
звони́тьzvonítʹ
(transitive)To signal or proclaim something (especially a death) by ringing a bell.
(transitive)To summon by, or as if by, ringing a bell.
- ring as in announcing death
- make (bells) ring, often for the purposes of musical edification
Examples
3 sentencesYour death knell has not sounded.
Apparently "the iPhone sounds the death knell for the Internet."
That would sound the death knell for many industrial undertakings.
Translations
4 languagesBy meaning 1
Origin
From Middle English knyllen, from Old English cnyllan (“to strike; knock; clap”), from ProFrom 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”).
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Forms
knells, knelling, knelled, knelledSynonyms
1 synonyms- make (bells) ring, often for the purposes of musical edification:ring
Word family
1 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle