tintinnabulation

American  

[tin-ti-nab-yuh-ley-shuhn] / ˌtɪn tɪˌnæb yəˈleɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the ringing or sound of bells.

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tintinnabulation British  

/ ˌtɪntɪˌnæbjʊˈleɪʃən /

noun

1. the act or an instance of the ringing or pealing of bells

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• tintinnabular
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of tintinnabulation

From Latin tintinnābul(um) “bell” + -ation; coined by Edgar Allan Poe in his poem Bells (published 1849); see also tintinnabular

Explanation

The noun tintinnabulation refers to a bell-like sound, like the tintinnabulation of wind chimes blowing in the breeze. The sound of bells ringing, like church bells on a Sunday morning, can be called tintinnabulation. You can describe similar sounds that way, too — like the telephone's tintinnabulation or the tintinnabulation of your sister's silver bracelets tinkling together as she walks. The Latin word tintinnabulum means "bell," and Edgar Allen Poe popularized tintinnabulation's usage in the aptly named poem "The Bells."

Example Sentences

Tintinnabulation, tin-tin-ab-ū-lā′shun, n. the tinkling sound of bells.—adjs.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various