peal

A peal is a loud or deep sound that is usually repeated. So, you may hear a peal of laughter or a peal of thunder, but you wouldn’t refer to a solitary scream as a peal.

You’ll often notice the regular, repeated peal of church bells — in fact, they sometimes peal on the hour. In the fourteenth century, a peal referred specifically to church bells, in fact. The word is a shortened version of appeal, from the idea that the bells “summon” or “call ” worshippers to the church. In contemporary times, peal is more often used to describe more commonly repeated sounds — like barking, laughter or thunder.