Home / Dictionary / Bel

Bel Common

Origin: Germanic Old English prefix

Bel has 6 different meanings across 2 categories:

Noun · Proper Noun

Definitions
Noun
1

a logarithmic unit of sound intensity equal to 10 decibels

"The engineer measured the amplifier's output in bels to calculate the precise increase in sound energy relative to the reference level."

Bel B
2

Babylonian god of the earth; one of the supreme triad including Anu and Ea; earlier identified with En-lil

"The ancient inscription honored the bel as a supreme deity alongside Anu and Ea."

Bel
3

A measure of relative power, defined as log₁₀(P ₁/P ₂), where P₁ and P₂ are the measured and reference power respectively.

"The old botanist noted that 'bel' was an archaic spelling used to refer to the Indian bael tree."

4

Alternative form of bael (Indian tree)

In plain English: A bel is a unit used to measure how much louder something sounds compared to another sound.

"She likes to play her favorite song on the bel during lunch breaks."

Usage: The bel is rarely used in everyday conversation; people almost always refer to one-tenth of a unit, called a decibel (dB). Use "decibel" when discussing sound levels or signal strength rather than the larger base unit.

Proper Noun
1

A Babylonian deity, corresponding to the Semitic Baal.

"Bel was born in July and has always loved the ocean."

2

A female given name.

Example Sentences
"She likes to play her favorite song on the bel during lunch breaks." noun
"The old bel was filled with sand to weigh down the sailboat." noun
"He adjusted the bel before tying off the heavy rope on the cliff edge." noun
"Every sailor knows that securing a loose bel is essential for safety at sea." noun
Related Terms
Broader Terms (hypernyms)
sound unit

Origin

The name bel is named after Alexander Graham Bell. It was originally used to honor his invention of the telephone.

Rhyming Words
abel rubel asbel tobel sobel nobel lobel dobel umbel sibel libel gibel rebel nebel lebel jebel debel zabel nabel mabel
Compare
Bel vs