tintinnabular means of or related to bells; of the nature of a bell. It carries an Arena rating of 1779, earned across 11 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, tintinnabular ranks #225 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #313 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #784 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words, #1,520 of 17,163 for Funniest Words.
Why “tintinnabular” is a great word
Relating to bells or the ringing of bells. From the Latin tintinnabulum ("little bell") + the English suffix -ar (forming adjectives). First attested 1760–70. Unlike "campanological" (which concerns the science of bells) or "sonorous" (which describes any resonant depth), "tintinnabular" captures the particular, crystalline quality of the sound itself. It is the thin, persistent echo of a shop bell, the layered cascade of a carillon from a stone tower, and the solitary clapper striking bronze in a vacant steeple—a word that sounds exactly like what it names, preserving the fragile, particular music of metal struck and left to fade.
Etymology
From Latin tintinnabulum (“little bell”) + -ar (“forming adjectives”).
adj
- Of or related to bells; of the nature of a bell.e.g.“That tintinnabular peculiarity of the British nation, the semihourly bell.”
- Of or related to bell-ringing.e.g.“He excurred to the tintinnabular summons alacritously.”
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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