tintinnabulation

[tin-ti-nab-yuh-ley-shuh n]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tintinnabulation ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the ringing or sound of bells.

Origin of tintinnabulation

1825–35, Americanism; < Latin tintinnābul(um) bell (see tintinnabular) + -ation

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for tintinnabulation

sound, noise, ringing, jingle, chime, clangor, clanging

Examples from the Web for tintinnabulation

Historical Examples of tintinnabulation

Keeping tune, tune, tune To the tintinnabulation of the spoon.
The Book of Humorous Verse
Various
The bells were quickly inserted in their ears, and soon the whole village was in tintinnabulation.
Lippincott's Magazine Of Popular Literature And Science, No. 23, February, 1873, Vol. XI. No. 23.
Various
The telephone bell was being rung continuously, and he called "Hello" several times before the tintinnabulation ceased.
The Further Adventures of Quincy Adams Sawyer and Mason's Corner Folks
Charles Felton Pidgin
Midnight had some time passed when everybody was awakenedbut that graduallyby a tintinnabulation of silvery bells.
The Corner House Girls on Palm Island
Grace Brooks Hill

British Dictionary definitions for tintinnabulation

tintinnabulation

noun

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

Derived Formstintinnabular, tintinnabulary or tintinnabulous, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for tintinnabulation

"the ringing of bells," 1831 (perhaps coined by Poe), from Latin tintinnabulum "bell," from tintinnare "to ring, jingle" (reduplicated form of tinnire "to ring," from an imitative base) + instrumental suffix -bulum. Earlier forms in English were tintinnabulary (1787), tintinnabulatory (1827), and tintinnabulum "small bell" (late 14c.).