tintinnabulation
- noun
- /ˌtɪn.tɪ.nəˈbjuː.leɪ.ʃən/
- Archaic
:
tintineo
- "Maybe I won't let him go to North Carolina," she said from the doorway, winking, and disappeared, leaving behind the tintinnabulation of her laugh.
Examples
-
As I walked along the street, I was delighted by the tintinnabulation of wind chimes hanging outside a shop.
-
On hot days, often no one comes outdoors at all until the silver tintinnabulation heralds the truck's coming.
Fiction book (2000) -
"To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells "From the bells, bells, bells, bells, bells."
-
And perhaps I'm simply a poor bet for her or anybody, since I like the tintinnabulation of early romance yet lack the urge to do more than ignore it when that sweet sonority threatens to develop into something else.
Fiction book (1996) -
The tintinnabulation of the church bells rang out across the quiet village.
-
The children's laughter was mixed with the pleasant tintinnabulation of bells during the festival.
Synonyms
221
1.0
A clear ringing sound made by a struck metal object
203
1.0
The sound a bell or phone makes when struck
133
1.0
A clear loud sound a bell or similar thing makes when hit
49
3.7
A short high sound like a small bell, for example a notification tone
40
2.3
A light ringing sound made by small metal objects
20
6.3
The slow deep sound a bell makes when hit
1
3.6
A repeated ringing sound a bell makes
1
3.3
A sound made by bells during a ceremony or musical performance
1
7.6
A short light ringing sound made by metal
Clear ringing sounds that bells make
A light clear sound when drinking glasses touch gently
A light cheerful sound like small bells or a music box
How Ringing
Surface Forms
Morphology
tintinnabulation = tintinnabulate (opaque) = tintinnabulate + ation
Although the noun is formed with the productive suffix '-ation', the stem 'tintinnabul-/tintinnabulate' is an uncommon, Latinate/onomatopoeic form not familiar to learners, so they cannot reliably derive the meaning.
Etymology
Tintinnabulation comes from the Latin tintinnare ('to ring') and tintinnabulum ('a bell'). Imagine many small bells or wind chimes all ringing together — that sound is 'tintinnabulation', so the word means a ringing or tinkling noise.