Emily Dickinson Lexicon

KNELL, n. [nell; Sax. cnyll; cnyllan, to beat or knock; W. cnul, a passing bell; G. knallen, to clap or crack; Sw. knalla; Dan. gneller, to bawl.]

Properly, the stroke of a bell; hence, the sound caused by striking a bell; appropriately, and perhaps exclusively, the sound of a bell rung at a funeral; a tolling.