# bel
## Translingual
### Symbol

bel
* (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-3 language code for Belarusian.

## English
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bɛl/
** Audio (US):(file)
* Rhymes: -ɛl
* Homophones: bell, belle

### Etymology 1

Named after Alexander Graham Bell.

#### Noun

bel (plural bels)
* A measure of relative power, defined as log$_{10}$(P $_1$/P $_2$), where P$_1$ and P$_2$ are the measured and reference power respectively.

##### Derived terms

* centibel
* decibel
* femtobel
* gigabel
* nanobel

##### Translations
#### References

* Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary

### Etymology 2
#### Noun

bel (plural bels)
* Alternative form of bael (“Indian tree”)

### Anagrams

* BLE, EBL, LEB, Leb, Leb.

## Albanian
### Etymology 1

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish بل (bel, “waist; spade”) (Turkish bel).

#### Noun

bel m
* (anatomy) waist

### Etymology 2

From Ottoman Turkish بل (bel, “spade”), from Persian بیل (bil, “spade”).

#### Noun

bel m
* spade

## Aragonese
### Alternative forms

* bela, bel-la (feminine)

### Etymology

From Latin bellus (“pretty”). Compare Gascon bèth for the determiner use.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈbel/
* Rhymes: -el
* Syllabification: bel

### Adjective

bel m
* strange (in certain expressions)

### Determiner

bel m
* any, anyone

### References

* Badia I Margarit, Antonio. 1950. El habla del Valle de Bielsa. Barcelona: Instituto de Estudios Pirenaicos. 88, 232.

## Azerbaijani
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bel/
* Audio (Baku):(file)

### Etymology 1

From Proto-Turkic *bẹ̄l.

#### Noun

bel (definite accusative beli, plural bellər)
* (anatomy) back of the body
    Synonyms: dal, arxa
    Belim ağrıyır. ― My back hurts.
    uşaqlığı at belində keçən adam ― a person whose childhood has passed on the back of a horse.
* (anatomy) small of the back
* (anatomy) waist
    Synonym: miyan
* (geography) saddleback, saddle, col

##### Derived terms

* bel bağlamaq (“to rely on”)

### Etymology 2

From Persian بیل (bil, “spade”).

#### Noun

bel (definite accusative beli, plural bellər)
* spade

### Further reading

* “bel” in Obastan.com.

## Bislama
### Etymology 1

From English bell.

#### Noun

bel
* bell

### Etymology 2

From English belly.

#### Noun

bel
* belly

### Etymology 3

From English bale.

#### Noun

bel
* bale

## Catalan
### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈbɛl]

### Etymology 1

Deverbal from belar (“to bleat”).

#### Noun

bel m (plural bels)
* baa, bleat

##### Related terms

* belar

### Etymology 2
#### Noun

bel m (plural bels)
* (physics, acoustics) bel

## Dutch
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bɛl/
* Audio:(file)
* Hyphenation: bel
* Rhymes: -ɛl

### Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch belle, from Old Dutch bella, from Proto-Germanic *bellǭ. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

#### Noun

bel f (plural bellen, diminutive belletje n)
* bell
* (obsolete) segment of a rattlesnake's rattle

##### Derived terms

* belhamel
* belleman
* beltrom
* beltrommel
* deurbel
* draaibel
* een belletje doen rinkelen
* fietsbel
* rinkelbel
* rotorbel
* toeters en bellen

##### Descendants

* → Caribbean Javanese: bèl
* → Sranan Tongo: bèl

### Etymology 2

Probably a variant of bal (“ball, round convex object”)

#### Noun

bel f (plural bellen, diminutive belletje n)
* bubble
    Synonym: bubbel

##### Derived terms

* luchtbel
* zeepbel

### Etymology 3

Compare the semantic development of slet, but it is not certain whether the sense rag here is related to the sense referring to vulgar women, which is barely attested as simplex. Alternatively, the compounds featuring this words have been explained as being formed by analogy with snottebel or perhaps lellebel; note lellebellen (“to chit-chat”), which is attested as early as 1599 and may be related to German bellen (“to bark”). This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

#### Noun

bel ? (plural bellen, diminutive belletje n)
* (obsolete, literally) rag
* (obsolete, figuratively) loose, vulgar woman

##### Derived terms

* bellig
* lellebel
* morsebel
* slettebel
* teutebel
* totebel
* tuttebel

### Etymology 4

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

#### Verb

bel
* inflection of bellen:
** first-person singular present indicative
** (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
** imperative

## French
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bɛl/
* Audio:(file)
* Homophones: bêle, belle

### Etymology 1

see beau

#### Adjective

bel
* 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 bɛ.l‿ɔm/)

##### Related terms

* bel air
* bel-enfant
* bel esprit

### Etymology 2

Named for Alexander Graham Bell

#### Noun

bel m (plural bels)
* (sound engineering) bel (unit of sound intensity)

##### Derived terms

* décibel

### Further reading

* “bel”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

### Anagrams

* blé

## Hamer-Banna
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bél/, [bél̥]

### Noun

bel
* (of girls) bond friend (friend across ethnic boundaries)

### References

Petrollino, Sara (2016) A Grammar of Hamar: A South Omotic language of Ethiopia‎, Leiden University

## Hausa
### Etymology

Borrowed from English belt.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bél/
** (Standard Kano Hausa) IPA: [bál]

### Noun

bêl m
* belt
* seatbelt

## Hungarian
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈbɛl]
* Hyphenation: bel
* Rhymes: -ɛl

### Etymology 1

From English bel.

#### Noun

bel
* bel (a unit of measurement)

##### Derived terms

* decibel

### Etymology 2

From bél.

#### Noun

bel
* (archaic) internal part (a variant form of bél, used in derivatives)

##### Related terms

* -ban / -ben
* -ba / -be
* be → be-
* bel-
* bele (belé, beléje)
* -beli (-béli)
* beljebb (bellebb)
* bellebbez (beljebbez)
* belőle
* belső (benső)
* belül (belől, bévül)
* benne
* bennünket, -eteket
* bent (benn)
* bél (and archaic bel)
* -ból / -ből

### Further reading

* bel in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
* bel and bel- in Nóra Ittzés, editor, A magyar nyelv nagyszótára [A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (Nszt.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published a–ez as of 2024).

## Icelandic
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈpɛːl/
    Rhymes: -ɛːl

### Noun

bel n (genitive singular bels, nominative plural bel)
* bel (measure of relative power)

#### Related terms

* desibel, desíbel

## Indonesian
### Etymology 1

From Dutch bel (“bell”), from Middle Dutch belle, from Old Dutch bella, from Proto-Germanic *bellǭ.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bɛl/
* Hyphenation: bèl

#### Noun

bèl (plural bel-bel)
* bell
    Synonym: lonceng

#### Verb

bèl
* (colloquial) to make phone call

##### Conjugation

$^1$ The -kan row is either causative or applicative. With transitive roots it mostly has applicative meaning. Some of these forms do not normally exist or are rarely used in standard Indonesian. Some forms may also change meaning.

#### Derived terms

* mengebel

### Etymology 2

From English bel, after Alexander Graham Bell.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bəl/
* Hyphenation: bêl

#### Noun

bêl (plural bel-bel)
* (physics) bel, a measure of relative power, defined as log$_{10}$(P $_1$/P $_2$), where P$_1$ and P$_2$ are the measured and reference power respectively

### Further reading

* “bel” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

## Italian
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bɛl/
* Rhymes: -ɛl
* Hyphenation: bel

### Adjective

bel
* preconsonantal masculine singular form of bello

## Karaim
### Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *bẹ̄l(k).

### Noun

bel
* thigh, waist

### References

* N. A. Baskakov, S.M. Šapšala, editor (1973), “bel”, in Karaimsko-Russko-Polʹskij Slovarʹ [Karaim-Russian-Polish Dictionary], Moscow: Moskva, →ISBN

## Ladino
### Etymology

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish بل (bel, “waist”).

### Noun

bel m (Hebrew spelling ביל)
* (anatomy) waist
    Synonym: talia
** 2006, Matilda Koén-Sarano, Por el plazer de kontar‎, page 229:I kuanto mas la karne era negra, tantos mas eran los pedasos del bel para abasho, ke eya le orava!And how the meat was so much blacker, especially the chunks from the waist down, that she prayed for it!
* (clothing) waist
** 19th century, Sa'adi Besalel a-Levi, edited by Aron Rodrigue, Sarah Abrevaya Stein, A Jewish Voice from Ottoman Salonica: The Ladino Memoir of Sa'adi Besalel A-Levi‎, Stanford University Press, published 2012, →ISBN, page 262:El bel era muy estrecho i las mangas eran estrechas kantidad ke non les vinia la mania al braso.The waist was very narrow and the sleeves were so tight that there was barely room for their bracelets.

### References

* ↑ “bel”, in Trezoro de la Lengua Djudeoespanyola.

## Maguindanao
### Etymology

From Proto-Austronesian *qebel.

### Pronunciation

* (Standard Maguindanaon) IPA: /bəl/ [bʊɭ]
* Rhymes: -əl
* Syllabification: bel

### Noun

bël
* smoke

## Maranao
### Etymology

From Proto-Austronesian *qebel, compare Mansaka ubul and Western Bukidnon Manobo evel.

### Noun

bel
* smoke

### References

* A Maranao Dictionary, by Howard P. McKaughan and Batua A. Macaraya

## Middle English
### Alternative forms

* bele, beele, beale, bealle

### Etymology

From Old French bel, biau, from Latin bellus, from Old Latin *duenelos. Doublet of beau.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈbɛːl/, /ˈbɛl/

### Adjective

bel
* Of fine quality: good, nice, appealing.
* Physically appealing; attractive, pretty.

#### Related terms

* beaute, bewte

#### References

* “bē̆l, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-11-24.

## Norman
### Etymology

Borrowed from Old Norse bœli.

### Noun

bel m (plural bels)
* (Jersey) courtyard, yard, patio
* (Jersey) farmyard

#### Derived terms

* bel à balle (“ball court, ball park”)

## Norwegian Nynorsk
### Etymology 1

Named after A. G. Bell.

#### Noun

bel m (definite singular belen, indefinite plural bel, definite plural belane)
* bel (logarithmic measure of sound pressure)

##### Derived terms

* desibel

### Etymology 2

From Old Norse bil.

#### Noun

bel n (definite singular belet, indefinite plural bel, definite plural bela)
* moment, instant
* gap, space

### References

* “bel” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

## Old French
### Alternative forms

* beal (uncommon)
* beau
* biau

### Etymology

From Latin bellus.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bɛl/

### Adjective

bel m (oblique and nominative feminine singular bele)
* graceful, elegant, courteous
* noble
* (as a term of address) good, as in, my good sir, my good lady
** late 12th century, Aucassin et Nicolette, page 6 of the Mario Roques edition
    Biax sire, fait li quens, car laisciés ester. Nicolete est une caitive que j’amenai d’estrange tereGood sir, said the count, let her be. Nicolette is a captive that I've brought here from a foreign land
* handsome; beautiful

#### Related terms

* belement
* biauté
* bellezour

#### Descendants

* Angevin: biau
* Bourbonnais-Berrichon: biau
* Bourguignon: bea
* Champenois: bé, biau
* Franc-Comtois: bia
** Middle French: beau, bel
*** French: beau
**** → English: beau
* Norman: bel, biau
* Picard: biau, bieu (Amiens)
* Poitevin-Saintongeais: bia
** Paydret: béou
* Walloon: bea
* → Middle English: beau; bel

## Old Occitan
### Alternative forms

* belh

### Etymology

From Latin bellus.

### Adjective

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

## Polish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈbɛl/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -ɛl
* Syllabification: bel

### Etymology 1

Internationalism; compare English bel. Ultimately named after Scottish-born inventor, scientist, and engineer Alexander Graham Bell.

#### Noun

bel m inan (abbreviation B)
* bel

##### Declension
### Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

#### Noun

bel f
* genitive plural of bela

### Further reading

* bel in Polish dictionaries at PWN

## San Pablo Güilá Zapotec
### Alternative forms

* behld (San Dionisio Ocotepec)

### Noun

bel
* (San Pablo Güilá) fish

### References

* Natalie Operstein, Aaron Huey Sonnenschein, Valence Changes in Zapotec: Synchrony, diachrony, typology (2015, →ISBN, page 80

## Serbo-Croatian
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bêːl/

### Adjective

bȇl (Cyrillic spelling бе̑л, definite bȇlī, comparative bèljī)
* Alternative form of bȅo

## Slovene
### Etymology

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

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bèːʋ/

### Adjective

bẹ́ł (comparative bȍlj bẹ́ł or belȇjši, superlative nȁjbolj bẹ́ł or nȁjbelȇjši)
* white

#### Inflection

This adjective needs an inflection-table template.

#### See also

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

### Further reading

* “bel”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran
* “bel”, in Termania, Amebis
* See also the general references

## Tok Pisin
### Etymology

From English belly.

### Noun

bel
* abdomen, belly (of a human)
* underside
** 1989, Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Port Moresby: Bible Society of Papua New Guinea, Jenesis 3:14: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.→New International Version translation
* the fuselage of an airplane.

#### Derived terms

* bel i hevi/bel hevi
* rausim bel

## Turkish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈbɛl/

### Etymology 1

From Ottoman Turkish بل (bel, “waist, loins”), from Proto-Turkic *bẹ̄l(k) (“waist”). Cognate with Old Turkic 𐰋𐰃𐰠 (b²il² /⁠bél⁠/, “waist”).

#### Noun

bel (definite accusative beli, plural beller)
* waist

##### Declension

singular
plural
nominative
bel
beller
definite accusative
beli
belleri
dative
bele
bellere
locative
belde
bellerde
ablative
belden
bellerden
genitive
belin
bellerin
Possessive forms
nominative
singular
plural
1st singular
belim
bellerim
2nd singular
belin
bellerin
3rd singular
beli
belleri
1st plural
belimiz
bellerimiz
2nd plural
beliniz
belleriniz
3rd plural
belleri
belleri
definite accusative
singular
plural
1st singular
belimi
bellerimi
2nd singular
belini
bellerini
3rd singular
belini
bellerini
1st plural
belimizi
bellerimizi
2nd plural
belinizi
bellerinizi
3rd plural
bellerini
bellerini
dative
singular
plural
1st singular
belime
bellerime
2nd singular
beline
bellerine
3rd singular
beline
bellerine
1st plural
belimize
bellerimize
2nd plural
belinize
bellerinize
3rd plural
bellerine
bellerine
locative
singular
plural
1st singular
belimde
bellerimde
2nd singular
belinde
bellerinde
3rd singular
belinde
bellerinde
1st plural
belimizde
bellerimizde
2nd plural
belinizde
bellerinizde
3rd plural
bellerinde
bellerinde
ablative
singular
plural
1st singular
belimden
bellerimden
2nd singular
belinden
bellerinden
3rd singular
belinden
bellerinden
1st plural
belimizden
bellerimizden
2nd plural
belinizden
bellerinizden
3rd plural
bellerinden
bellerinden
genitive
singular
plural
1st singular
belimin
bellerimin
2nd singular
belinin
bellerinin
3rd singular
belinin
bellerinin
1st plural
belimizin
bellerimizin
2nd plural
belinizin
bellerinizin
3rd plural
bellerinin
bellerinin :

### Etymology 2

From Ottoman Turkish بل (bel, “spade”), variant of بیل (bil), from Persian بیل (bil, “spade”).

#### Noun

bel (definite accusative beli, plural beller)
* (dated) spade

#### References

* Kélékian, Diran (1911) “بل”, in Dictionnaire turc-français‎, Constantinople: Mihran, page 274
* Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–) “bel2”, in Nişanyan Sözlük

### Etymology 3

From Proto-Turkic *bel-.

#### Noun

bel
* mark, sign

##### Derived terms

* bel etmek

## Turkmen
### Noun

bel (definite accusative beli, plural beller)
* archaic and dialectal form of pil (“shovel, spade”)

#### Declension
## Uzbek
### Etymology 1

From Proto-Turkic *bẹ̄l (“waist”).

#### Noun

bel (plural bellar)
* waistline

##### Declension
### Etymology 2

Borrowed from Persian بیل (bêl, “spade”).

#### Noun

bel (plural bellar)
* shovel, spade

##### Declension
## Volapük
### Etymology

Borrowed from German Berg.

### Noun

bel (nominative plural bels)
* mountain
** 1952, Arie de Jong, Diatek nulik: Gospul ma ‚Matthaeus’. Kapit: V:Ven Yesus älogom menamödotis, äbexänom beli.Seeing the crowds, Jesus went onto the mountain.

#### Declension

$^1$ status as a case is disputed $^2$ in later, non-classical Volapük only

## West Frisian
### Etymology

From Old Frisian *belle, from Proto-Germanic *bellǭ.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bɛl/

### Noun

bel c (plural bellen, diminutive beltsje)
* bell
* doorbell

#### Derived terms

* earbel

#### Further reading

* “bel”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

## Wiyot
### Adjective

bel
* flat, wide

### References

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