Pl. -a. [L., a bell, f. tintinnā-re to ring, clink, jingle + -bulum, suffix of instrument.] A small tinkling bell. Also fig. b. See quot. 1877.
[1398. Trevisa, Barth. De P. R., XIX. cxxviii. (1495), 935. Tintinabulum is the belle that is often hangyd abowte the neckes of houndes & fete of foules and byrdes.]
1597. 1st Pt. Return fr. Parnass., V. i. 1465. Thoue whorsonn tintunabulum, thou that art the scorne of all good witts.
1782. Cowper, Table-t., 529. Beating alternately, in measured time, The clockwork tintinnabulum of rhyme.
1877. Knight, Dict. Mech., Tintinnabulum, a musical instrument of percussion, consisting of a number of bells suspended in a frame.