bell (n)  a hollow, deeply inverted object usually metal, with a clapper for creating a musical note or sound

belle (n)  a beautiful girl or woman; the most beautiful in a group

Do you know how many different kinds of bells there are?  Take a moment and think about it.  Doorbells are part of our homes.  Small shops tend to have bells on their entry door.  Service counters have lovely desk call bells.  Church bells ring at noon in some towns.  The elementary school I attended used a hand bell to indicate the end of recess.  Though the holidays have wrapped up, my favorite bells are sleigh bells.  Our family used a bell regularly to call us in from the yard.  We could hear it even two-doors down when we were playing at the neighbor’s.  What other bells do you encounter?

For my fiftieth birthday, one sister gave me fifty bells!   Her generosity ended my collecting of bells.  My collection was complete.  In reality, our house has a limited capacity for treasures.  My collection originally started by people randomly giving me bells because of my name. I never realized how many different styles of bells existed. They are found internationally and are sounded to symbolize beginnings, endings, call to order, warnings or celebrations.  In addition to the primary bell, there are bell peppers, kettle bells, diving bells, bell choirs and lovely flowers called blue bells.  So many bells!

Add a second “e” and belle holds a different meaning.  As my mother would say, “It’s French, you know”, and she was right!  My grandmother’s name was Belana and my parents gave me a variation of her name, Belle, meaning beautiful.  I have been asked more times than I can count, if my name is short for anything.  I was never an Isabelle, Anabelle or Jezebelle; just Belle.

The word belle is used more frequently as a name rather than as a part of speech in a sentence.  The popularity soared when Disney released Beauty and the Beast.  Did you know that the original story was penned by a French novelist, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve in 1740?  I wonder if my mother ever read the original fairy tale as a child growing up in a French-speaking household?  Perhaps it contributed to my parents’ settling on my name.

There is little chance you’re going to mistake the use of bell with belle in daily conversation.  Remember how I wrote that there seems to be an infinite number of bells.  Well, the belles are as different and unique as the bells!