passing bell

American  

noun

1. a bell tolled to announce a death or funeral.

2. a portent or sign of the passing away of anything.

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passing bell British  

noun

1. Also called: death bell.   death knell.  a bell rung to announce a death or a funeral

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Etymology

Origin of passing bell

First recorded in 1520–30

Example Sentences

In Bishop Blougram's Apology, Browning's bishop says of the "-ologies" that they are "the Greek endings, the little passing bell that signifies some faith's about to die."

From Time Magazine Archive

Somewhere near, a passing bell was tolling; the dogs all round the neighbourhood were howling; and in our shrubbery, seemingly just outside, a nightingale was singing.

From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker

Bede, in speaking of the death of the Abbess of St. Hilda, says that a sister in a distant monastery thought that she heard in her sleep the well-known sound of the passing bell.

From Old Church Lore by Andrews, William

The tolling of the passing bell, as such, continued until the time of Charles II., and it was one of the subjects of inquiry in all articles of visitation.

From Old Church Lore by Andrews, William

The statistics which abound in the Report are as the ringing of a passing bell.

From Stand Up, Ye Dead by Maclean, Norman