carillon means A set of bells, often in a bell tower, sometimes operated by means of a keyboard (manual or pedal), originating from the Low Countries.
carillon is pronounced /ˈkɛɹɪˌlɑn/.
Why “carillon” is a great word
A musical instrument consisting of a stationary set of at least twenty-three chromatically tuned bronze bells, housed in a tower and played from a manual and pedal keyboard that activates clappers via a direct mechanical linkage. Its name derives from French carillon, from Old French carignon ('set of four bells'), from Latin quattuor ('four'), via a Vulgar Latin root *quadrinionem. Unlike a chime, which is a simpler, smaller set often lacking a full chromatic range and complex mechanism, or a peal, which is the sequence of ringing bells rather than the instrument that plays melodies, a carillon is a full chromatic orchestra cast in bronze. It is the deep, liquid tumble of sound that rolls across a town square on the hour, the intricate fugue trembling the leaded glass of a cathedral window, and the distant, bronze laughter that weathers centuries—a monument not to stone, but to air set permanently in motion.
Etymology
Borrowed from French carillon.
noun
- A set of bells, often in a bell tower, sometimes operated by means of a keyboard (manual or pedal), originating from the Low Countries.
- A tune adapted to be played by musical bells.
verb
- To play a carillon.
- To ring out like a carillon.e.g.“High carilloned Anne's laughter.” — 1899, Matthew Phipps Shiel, Cold Steel, page 157:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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