Chimes

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /t͡ʃaɪmz/

Definitions

1. A collection of bells or metal tubes that produce sound when struck produces rhythmic sounds often used in timekeeping or to signify intervals Musical instruments that create melodic tones through motion or impact, commonly associated with festive occasions or outdoor decor
2. An arrangement of tuned metal tubes or bells that resonate when struck creates an auditory signal related to the passage of time Objects designed to produce harmonic sounds when agitated by wind or mechanical force, often utilized in gardens or as ornamental elements
3. A set of metal tubes or bells tuned to different notes and played by striking them ; the ringing noise produced when those tubes or bells are hit

Etymology: The noun "chimes" is simply the plural of "chime," and the singular has a stranger ancestry than its sound suggests. It descends from the cymbal. Middle English "chymbe" or "chyme" likely came from Old Northern French "chimbe," meaning "cymbal," which was itself a back-formation from "chimble" or "cimble," shaped by a misreading of the Latin "cymbalum." Writers and speakers treated the ending as if it were a plural and trimmed it away, producing a new singular from what was really a older noun. The tuneful sense of bells arrived through a second, accidental step. Scribes or readers of a Middle English form, "chymbele," which traces back to Old English "cimbala" and "cimbal," may have misread it as "chymbe belle," or "chime bell." Bells ringing in sequence thus picked up a name that had originally belonged to clashing metal plates, and the two strands merged into the sense we use today.

Synonyms: bells, carillons, tinklers