CHIME  . (r) (Probably derived from a mistaken separation into two words, chimbe

bell, of chymbal or chymbel, the old form of " cymbal," Lat. cymbalum), a mechanical arrangement by which a set of bells in a church or other tower, or in a clock, are struck so as to produce a sequence of musical sounds or a tune . For the mechanism of such an arrangement in a clock and in a set of bells, see the articles CLOCK and BELL . The word is also applied to the tune thus played by the bells and also to the harmonious " fall " of verse, and so, figuratively, to any harmonious agreement of thought or action . (2) (From Mid . Eng. chimb, a word meaning " edge," common in varied forms to Teutonic languages, cf . Ger . Kimme), the bevelled rim formed by the projecting staves at the ends of a cask .