dumbbell
noun/ˈdʌm.bɛl/
Etymology
From dumb (“silent”) + bell (“a resonating instrument”). The term "dumbbell" originated in 16th-century England to describe silent exercise apparatus used in practicing the motions of ringing church bells noiselessly. To aid them in the practice of their physically demanding vocation, bellringers originally used weighted ropes on fixed pulleys to mimic the motion of ringing a church bell; since such apparatus made no noise while imitating the motion of ringing a swinging bell via a fixed pulley, they were called "dumb bells". Later, the rope-and-pulley weights evolved into simple hand-held weights used by ringers for strengthening the shoulder and back muscles heavily used in tower bellringing, and the term "'dumb bell'" evolved into the compound word "'dumbbell'".
A weight training implement consisting of a short bar with weight counterpoised on each end.
- He was exercising with the dumbbells in gym class today.
- He also had a room strewn with the toys of the trade and what-have-you: ropes and ironmongery, buoyancy aid and bagpipes, fetid socks and half-eaten haggises, dumbbells and ski-instructor sweaters.1997, Pete McDonald, Climbing Lessons: Inside Outdoor Education, page 40:
2 more examples
- On the map Gansu is shaped like a dumbbell lying obliquely from east to west. Its best known city is Lanjhou, the capital, and also the gateway to the Silk Road. But we did not go there; we were heading for a relatively unknown city a few hundred miles away from Lanjhou, called Tianshuei.2007, “The Years before the End of the War”, in A Girl From Shanghai: The Story of Lillian Hsu, a Medical Geneticist, a NTU Medical College Alumna, →ISBN, →OCLC, pages 35–36:
- Her eternal quest was for self-improvement, underscored also by the dumbbells she hoisted well before Jane Fonda made it fashionable.2026 May 24, Alexandra Jacobs, “How Marilyn Monroe Gave a Smart Gloss to Her Image”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
Obsolete A bell with no clapper, used as bell-striking practice or to strike as a form of physical exercise
Derogatory, Slang A stupid person.
- That's fool's gold, you dumbbell. Iron pyrite. Nobody would give you a dime for a ton of it.2015, Floyd Merrell, Enigmas: Gold Fever, Space-Time Warps, Sierra Madre Magic:
- Derived terms
- dumbbell curve, nanodumbbell
- Related terms
- barbell, kettlebell