death bell

the bell that announces a death.

Origin of death bell

First recorded in 1730–40

One day his beloved did not appear; and soon the death-bell tolled sorrowfully over the island.

Legends of the Rhine |Wilhelm Ruland
He had scarcely finished speaking when the slow, deep boom of the death-bell awoke the sluggish stillness of the heavy night.

Mark Hurdlestone |Susanna Moodie
Still the death-bell tolled so mournfully that the sunshine seemed to fade in the air.

Twice Told Tales |Nathaniel Hawthorne
As I stood on the shore, quietly thinking, I was startled by the sound of the death-bell, pealing along the sunny blue waters.

Sketches in Canada, and rambles among the red men |Anna Brownell Jameson

When ships go down at sea during a terrible tempest, it is said the "death-bell" is often distinctly heard amid the storm-wind.

Notes and Queries, Number 215, December 10, 1853 |Various