Definition

Noun: - A bell rung in Roman Catholic churches: A bell whose sound signals the specific times of day (traditionally 6 a.m., noon, and 6 p.m.) for the recitation of the Angelus, a devotional prayer commemorating the Incarnation.

Usage

The term refers specifically to the sound or the signal itself, not typically to the physical bell as an object. It marks a devotional time in the Catholic tradition.

Examples

• The quiet village was punctuated by the clear tone of the angelus bell calling the faithful to prayer.
• We could hear the angelus bell ringing from the cathedral across the river.
• The scheduled times for the angelus bell are often printed in parish bulletins.

Advanced Usage

• Metaphorical Use: The sound can be used poetically or metaphorically to evoke a sense of tradition, the passage of time, or a call to reflection.
  • The distant angelus bell seemed to toll for the end of an era.

Variants and Related Words

• Angelus (noun): The prayer itself that the bell announces.
  • The family paused to say the Angelus.
• Prayer bell (noun): A more general term for a bell rung to call people to prayer.

Synonyms

• Prayer bell
• Devotional bell

Notes

This is a compound noun ("Angelus bell") that functions as a single lexical unit. Its meaning is directly tied to the Catholic devotional practice of the Angelus prayer.

Noun

1. the sound of a bell rung in Roman Catholic churches to announce the time when the Angelus should be recited