What do you call the sound of a bell?

If you wanted to describe the sound of a small brass bell that you can hold in your hand (this is an example image of what I mean - what word would you use? Brrring? Bling?

Solution 1:

The term should be tinkle. For example:

• A bell tinkled as the door opened.
• The maid tinkled a bell.

Solution 2:

Edgar Allen Poe's poem The Bells pretty much covers this. In this poem:

sleigh bells tinkle and jingle,
wedding bells ring and chime,
alarm bells clang,
funeral bells toll and knell.

For small bells, I think tinkle, jingle, ring would all apply.

Solution 3:

The sound of a hand held brass bell, to me, is "ding-a-ling."

"Tinkle" would apply at best to a very small bell (and at worst is slang for urinate as I commented above), and "brrring" would apply to the repeated hammering on a bell such as one used to hear telephones or school bells make. "Bling" is slang for gaudy jewellery!

Solution 4:

The sound of a small brass bell is a ‘tintinnabulation’.