different between peal vs clack

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pi?l/
• Homophone: peel
• Rhymes: -i?l

Etymology 1

From Middle English pele, peil, probably an apheretic variant of Middle English apel, appel, from Old French apel (“an appeal; pealing of bells”). Compare appeal.

Noun

peal (plural peals)

1. A loud sound, or a succession of loud sounds, as of bells, thunder, cannon, shouts, laughter, of a multitude, etc.
   • 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island

     And, falling on a bench, he laughed until the tears ran down his cheeks, I could not help joining; and we laughed together, peal after peal […]

   • 1630, John Hayward, The Life and Raigne of King Edward VI

     a fair peal of artillery
2. A set of bells tuned to each other according to the diatonic scale.
3. The changes rung on a set of bells.

Translations

Verb

peal (third-person singular simple present peals, present participle pealing, simple past and past participle pealed)

1. (intransitive) To sound with a peal or peals.
   • 1864, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Christmas Bells

     Then pealed the bells more loud and deep...

   • 1939, Bing Crosby, In My Merry Oldsmobile

     To the church we'll swiftly steal, then our wedding bells will peal,

     You can go as far you like with me, in my merry Oldsmobile.

   • 2006, New York Times

     The bell pealed 20 times, clanging into the dusk as Mr. Bush’s motorcade drove off.

2. (transitive) To utter or sound loudly.
   • 1807', Joel Barlow, The Columbiad

     The warrior's name, / Though pealed and chimed on all the tongues of fame.

3. (transitive) To assail with noise.
4. (intransitive) To resound; to echo.
   • 1863, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Cumberland

     And the whole air pealed / With the cheers of our men.

5. (Britain, dialect) To pour out.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Halliwell to this entry?)

6. (obsolete) To appeal.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Spencer to this entry?)

Derived terms

• peal of bells

Translations

Etymology 2

Uncertain.

Alternative forms

• peel

Noun

peal (plural peals)

1. A small salmon; a grilse; a sewin.

Anagrams

• Alep, LEAP, Lape, Leap, e-pal, leap, pale, pale-, pela, plea

Estonian

Etymology

Adessive case of pea.

Noun

peal

1. adessive singular of pea

Postposition

peal

1. on, on top of

English

Etymology

From Middle English clacken, clakken, claken, from Old English *clacian (“to slap, clap, clack”), from Proto-Germanic *klak?n? (“to clap, chirp”). Cognate with Scots clake, claik (“to utter cries", also "to bedaub, sully with a sticky substance”), Dutch klakken (“to clack, crack”), Low German klakken (“to slap on, daub”), Norwegian klakke (“to clack, strike, knock”), Icelandic klaka (“to twitter, chatter, wrangle, dispute”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /klæk/

Noun

clack (plural clacks)

1. An abrupt, sharp sound, especially one made by two hard objects colliding repetitively; a sound midway between a click and a clunk.
2. Anything that causes a clacking noise, such as the clapper of a mill, or a clack valve.
3. Chatter; prattle.

   • whose chief intent is to vaunt his spiritual clack

4. (colloquial) The tongue.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

clack (third-person singular simple present clacks, present participle clacking, simple past and past participle clacked)

1. (intransitive) To make a sudden, sharp noise, or succession of noises; to click.
2. (transitive) To cause to make a sudden, sharp noise, or succession of noises; to click.
3. To chatter or babble; to utter rapidly without consideration.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Feltham to this entry?)
4. (Britain) To cut the sheep's mark off (wool), to make the wool weigh less and thus yield less duty.
5. Dated form of cluck.
   • 1934, Gladys Bagg Taber, Late Climbs the Sun (page 30)

     Only the chickens clacked at the Saturday quiet and fat mouse-minded cats licked whiskers on the empty steps.

   • 1964, Frances Margaret Cheadle McGuire, Gardens of Italy (page 57)

     We drive on between meadows of mown grass, through a pergola of vines, and so to an orchard of peaches, apples, and pears and a hen colony housed in neat modern cottages, the chickens clacking and scratching away […]

Translations