belling

Pluralbellings (some meanings)

1. 1
   verb

   Present participle and gerund of bell.

   The hunters listened for the stag belling across the valley at dusk.

   Belling the herd kept the animals from wandering off unheard.

   Note

   Every use of the verb bell passes through this one form, so whether it takes an object depends on which verb is meant. Transitive uses take one: belling the cat is fitting it with a bell, belling a tube's end flares it, and in slang belling someone means phoning them. Intransitive uses stand alone: a stag belling is roaring, a flower belling is opening into a bell shape. The roaring use overlaps with the deer's call as a noun.

2. 2
   noununcountable

   The bellowing call made by a male deer during the rutting season.

   At dawn the belling of a rival stag drew the herd's bull onto the ridge.

   Deer watchers travel to the park each fall to record the eerie belling of the males.

   Similarbellowing, roaring

3. 3
   noundialectalPennsylvaniaUSWesterncountable

   A boisterous mock serenade for newlyweds, in which neighbors gather to raise a loud racket outside their home.

   After the ceremony, half the county turned up for a belling that lasted past midnight.

   The newlyweds knew a belling was coming and stocked the kitchen with treats for their guests.

   Similarshivaree

   Note

   A regional name for the custom, heard in Indiana and western Pennsylvania. Most other American speakers call the same noisy visit to newlyweds a shivaree, which is the safer word for a general audience. In writing it is identical to the stag's rutting call and shares its Middle English ancestor, bellynge, so only context tells a reader whether deer or neighbors are making the noise.

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