knell

Definition

To ring a bell slowly, especially for a funeral; to toll.

Etymology

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”).

Example Sentences

• "I’ll make thee sick at heart, before I leave thee, And groan, and die indeed, and be worth nothing, Not worth a blessing nor a bell to knell for thee […]"
• "“[…] God!—the words of the warlock are knelling in my ears!”"
• "The chill rain is falling, the nipt worm is crawling, The rivers are swelling, the thunder is knelling For the year"