Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Bel

Bel

,
Noun.
The Babylonian name of the god known among the Hebrews as
Baal
. See
Baal
.
Baruch vi. 41.

Definition 2024

Bel

Bel

See also: bel, BEL, bél, bèl, bël, bel-, and ␇

English

Proper noun

Bel

  1. A Babylonian deity, corresponding to the Semitic Baal.
    • 1611, Bible (KJV), Jeremiah 50:2:
      Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces.
  2. (Armenian mythology) An evil giant who ruled Babylon prior to his defeat by the Armenian culture hero Hayk.
Related terms

Etymology 2

Short form of Isabel; a variant of Belle and Bell.

Proper noun

Bel

  1. A female given name.

bel

bel

See also: bel-, Bel, bél, bèl, bël, BEL, and ␇

English

Noun

bel ‎(plural bels)

  1. A measure of relative power, defined as log10(P 1/P 2), where P1 and P2 are the measured and reference power respectively. See also decibel.
Translations

References

  • Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary

Etymology 2

Noun

bel ‎(plural bels)

  1. Alternative form of bael (Indian tree)

Albanian

Etymology

Borrowing from Ottoman Turkish [Term?] ‎(“waist; spade”) (Turkish bel).

Noun

bel m

  1. (anatomy) waist
  2. spade

Catalan

Noun

bel m ‎(plural bels)

  1. baa, bleat

Related terms

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -ɛl

Noun

bel m, f ‎(plural bellen, diminutive belletje n)

  1. bell
  2. bubble

Derived terms

Verb

bel

  1. first-person singular present indicative of bellen
  2. imperative of bellen

French

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bɛl/

Etymology 1

see beau

Adjective

bel

  1. form of beau used before a masculine noun that starts with a vowel sound
Usage notes
  • used before masculine nouns that start with a vowel like animal but also before nouns that start with a vowel sound like homme, where the h is silent: un bel homme (/œ̃.bɛl.ɔm/)
Related terms
  • bel air

Etymology 2

Noun

bel m ‎(plural bels)

  1. bel

Anagrams

Hausa

Noun

bêl m

  1. belt
  2. seatbelt

Italian

Adjective

bel

  1. preconsonantal masculine singular form of bello

Descendants

Jamaican Creole

Etymology

From English bell.

Noun

bel

  1. bell

Ladino

Etymology

Borrowing from Turkish bel ‎(“waist”).

Noun

bel m ‎(Latin spelling, Hebrew spelling ביל)

  1. (anatomy) waist

Middle English

Noun

bel (plural bels)

  1. fine (clarification of this Middle English definition is being sought)

Norman

Etymology

Borrowing from Old Norse bǿli.

Noun

bel m ‎(plural bels)

  1. (Jersey) courtyard, yard, patio
  2. (Jersey) farmyard

Derived terms

Novial

Adjective

bel

  1. Shortened form of beli.

Old French

Adjective

bel m ‎(oblique and nominative feminine singular bele)

  1. Alternative form of biau

Declension

Old Provençal

Alternative forms

  • belh

Etymology

From Latin bellus

Adjective

bel m ‎(feminine singular bela, masculine plural bels, feminine plural belas)

  1. beautiful

San Pablo Güilá Zapotec

Alternative forms

  • behld (San Dionisio Ocotepec)

Noun

bel

  1. (San Pablo Güilá) fish

References

  • Natalie Operstein, ‎Aaron Huey Sonnenschein, Valence Changes in Zapotec: Synchrony, diachrony, typology (2015, ISBN 9027267782), page 80

Serbo-Croatian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bêːl/

Adjective

bȇl ‎(definite bȇlī, comparative bèljī, Cyrillic spelling бе̑л)

  1. Alternative form of bȅo

Slovene

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *bělъ, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰēlHs ‎(“white surface or stain”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbéːw/
  • Tonal orthography: bẹ̑ł

Adjective

bél ‎(comparative bòlj bél or belêjši, superlative nàjbolj bél or nàjbelêjši)

  1. white

Declension

This adjective needs an inflection-table template.

See also

Colors in Slovene · barve (layout · text)
     rdeča      zelena      rumena      krem      bela
     škrlatna      magenta, fuksija      turkizna      svetlozelena, limeta      roza
     indigo      modra      oranžna      siva      vijolična
     črna      vijolična, lila      rjava      azurna      sinja, cian

Tok Pisin

Etymology

English belly

Noun

bel

  1. abdomen, belly (of a human)
  2. underside
    • 1989, Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Bible Society of Papua New Guinea, Genesis 3:14 (translation here):
      Na God, Bikpela i tokim snek olsem, “Yu bin mekim dispela pasin nogut, olsem na nau mi gat strongpela tok bilong daunim yu. Bai yu gat bikpela hevi. Hevi yu karim bai i winim hevi bilong olgeta arapela animal. Nau na long olgeta taim bihain bai yu wokabaut long bel bilong yu tasol. Na bai yu kaikai das bilong graun.
  3. the fuselage of an airplane.

Derived terms

  • bel i hevi/bel hevi
  • rausim bel
This entry has fewer than three known examples of actual usage, the minimum considered necessary for clear attestation, and may not be reliable. Tok Pisin is subject to a special exemption for languages with limited documentation. If you speak it, please consider editing this entry or adding citations. See also Help and the Community Portal.

Turkish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbɛl/

Etymology 1

From Old Turkic 𐰋𐰃𐰠 ‎(bél, “waist”), from Proto-Turkic *bẹ̄l(k) ‎(“waist”).

Noun

bel ‎(definite accusative beli, plural beller)

  1. waist

Etymology 2

Borrowing from Persian بیل ‎(bil, “spade”).

Noun

bel ‎(definite accusative beli, plural beller)

  1. spade

Declension

Volapük

Etymology

Borrowing from German Berg.

Noun

bel ‎(plural bels)

  1. mountain

Declension

Wiyot

Adjective

bel

  1. flat, wide

References

  • Reconstructing Languages and Cultures: Abstracts and Materials from the Fist International Interdisciplinary Symposium on Language and Prehistory, Ann Arbor, 8-12 November, 1988

Etymology

From Latin Belus, from Ancient Greek Βηλος ‎(Bēlos), ultimately from Akkadian 𒂗 ‎(Bēlu).

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