peal
See also: Peal
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /piːl/
- Homophone: peel
- Rhymes: -iːl
Etymology 1
From Middle English pele, peil, probably an apheretic variant of Middle English apel, appel, from Old French apel (“an appeal; pealing of bells”).
Noun
peal (plural peals)
- A loud sound, or a succession of loud sounds, as of bells, thunder, cannon, shouts, laughter, of a multitude, etc.
- 1883: Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island
- And, falling on a bench, he laughed until the tears ran down his cheeks, I could not help joining; and we laughed together, peal after peal […]
- Hayward
- a fair peal of artillery
- Shakespeare
- whether those peals of praise be his or no
- Byron
- and a deep thunder, peal on peal, afar
- 1986, John le Carré, A Perfect Spy:
- And she has half a mind to weep again now, for Jack Brotherhood, as the front doorbell sounds through the house like a bugle call, three short peals as ever.
- 1883: Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island
- A set of bells tuned to each other according to the diatonic scale.
- The changes rung on a set of bells.
Translations
Verb
peal (third-person singular simple present peals, present participle pealing, simple past and past participle pealed)
- (intransitive) To sound with a peal or peals.
- 1864: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Christmas Bells
- Then pealed the bells more loud and deep...
- 1939: Bing Crosby, In My Merry Oldsmobile
- To the church we'll swiftly steal, then our wedding bells will peal,
- You can go as far you like with me, in my merry Oldsmobile.
- 2006: New York Times
- The bell pealed 20 times, clanging into the dusk as Mr. Bush’s motorcade drove off.
- 1864: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Christmas Bells
- (transitive) To utter or sound loudly.
- J. Barlow
- The warrior's name, / Though pealed and chimed on all the tongues of fame.
- J. Barlow
- (transitive) To assail with noise.
- Milton
- Nor was his ear less pealed.
- Milton
- To resound; to echo.
- Longfellow
- And the whole air pealed / With the cheers of our men.
- Longfellow
- (Britain, dialectal) To pour out.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Halliwell to this entry?)
- (obsolete) To appeal.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Spencer to this entry?)
Derived terms
Translations
Etymology 2
Uncertain.
Estonian
Etymology
Adessive case of pea.
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