bell-rope
(ˈbɛlrəʊp)
[f. as prec.]
The rope by which a bell is rung, i.e. either those in a belfry, or those which hang from the bell-levers in a room or chamber.
| 1638 Ford Fancies iii. ii. 163 Why hang thy looks like bell ropes? 1781 Cowper Truth 82 Girt with a bell-rope that the pope has blessed. 1871 Mad. Simple's Invest. iii. in Casquet Lit. (1877) I. 311/1 He pulled a bell-rope which hung at his bed's head. 1883 St. James' Gaz. 30 Nov. 5/1 It has been decided that the bell-ropes are the legal property of the churchwardens. |