bell ringer

Meanings

1. A person, especially one of a group, who rings bells.
2. A door-to-door salesman.
3. An assignment, done regularly at the beginning of a class, and intended as a warm-up before other classroom activities.
4. A type of anatomy exam in which students must answer questions at a series of stations and move on to the next station when a bell is rung.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English belringer, belle ringer, bellryngar, belryngere, equivalent to bell + ringer.