belfry
English
editEtymology
editFrom Middle English belfrey, bellfray, belfray, from Old French belfroi, berfroi, berfrey (changed to have an ⟨l⟩ by association with bell), from Middle High German bërcvrit or bërvrit (“defensive tower”) (modern German Bergfried),[1][2][3] possibly via Late Latin berefredus, from Proto-Germanic *bergafriþuz. Doublet of bergfried.
Pronunciation
editNoun
editbelfry (plural belfries)
- (architecture) A tower or steeple typically containing bells, especially as part of a church.
- (architecture) A part of a large tower or steeple, specifically for containing bells.
- 1922 February, James Joyce, “[The Cyclops]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:
- From the belfries far and near the funereal deathbell tolled unceasingly while all around the gloomy precincts rolled the ominous warning of a hundred muffled drums punctuated by the hollow booming of pieces of ordnance.
- (dialectal) A shed.
- (obsolete) A movable tower used in sieges.
- (obsolete) An alarm-tower; a watchtower possibly containing an alarm-bell.
Derived terms
editTranslations
edittower or steeple specifically for containing bells, especially as part of a church
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part of a large tower or steeple, specifically for containing bells
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moveable tower used in sieges
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watchtower containing an alarm-bell
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References
edit- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “belfry”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
- ^ “belfry”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- ^ Alternative spelling and languages with loanwords from the Middle High German word, in Benecke's Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch
- Michael Quinion (2004) “Belfry”, in Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds: Ingenious Tales of Words and Their Origins, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books in association with Penguin Books, →ISBN.
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Middle High German
- English terms derived from Late Latin
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English doublets
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/ɛlfɹi
- Rhymes:English/ɛlfɹi/2 syllables
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Architecture
- English terms with quotations
- English dialectal terms
- English terms with obsolete senses