Belling

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /ˈbɛlɪŋ/

Definitions

1. A loud, resonant sound, often associated with a bell, that marks a significant event or announcement; the act of chasing or tracking a creature using its vocalizations or signals in the wild; the process of creating or modifying objects to enhance their acoustic properties for artistic or communicative purposes
2. The act of producing a sonorous tone, reminiscent of a bell, especially to denote important happenings; pursuing wildlife by interpreting or responding to their natural calls and sounds; adjusting materials to optimize their sound quality for music or notification
3. A celebratory or informative chime reminiscent of bells signaling events; the technique of hunting or observing animals by following their noises or calls; the modification of structures to improve their auditory characteristics for sound production or resonance

Etymology: Belling is a plain formation: the noun "bell" with the suffix "-ing" added, and it arrived in English in the Middle English period as "bellynge." The "-ing" ending turns a noun into a word for an activity or the result of one, so the base idea is simply the business of making a bell's ringing sound. That is why the word can name both a sonorous tone and the act of producing one. The newer senses grew out of that core. Rather than meaning a ringing sound in general, the word narrowed to the ringing of a bell to mark a notable event, and it extended to uses where a sound is meant to be heard as a signal. The same logic runs through the other senses in the entry, where the common thread is making something produce a bell-like or summoning tone.

Synonyms: ringing, tolling