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belfry

UK/ˈbɛlfɹi/US/ˈbɛlfɹi/
nounC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #12,263 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: belfries

A belfry is the part of a tower where the bells hang. Up in the belfry, a church belfry, bats in the belfry.

The frame inside carries enormous forces when the bells swing, which is why belfries are built as they are and why a bad one shakes the tower. Bats in the belfry means eccentric. The word has nothing to do with bells originally: it comes from a Frankish word for a siege tower, and bell- was attached by association.

Definitions of belfry

  1. 1nounbelfryThe part of a tower where the bells hang.C1

    “The bell ringers climbed the narrow stairs up to the belfry.”

belfry is a part of a tower.

Where it comes from

Old French berfroi comes from a Frankish word for a siege tower. The bell- came later by association with bells.

  1. Proto-Germanic

    *bergafriþuz

  2. Frankish

    *bergafriþu

  3. Latin

    berfrēdus

  4. Old French

    belfroi

  5. Middle English

    belfry

  6. English, today

    belfry

From Middle English belfry, bellfray, belfray, berfrey, barfray, from Old French belfroi, berfroi, berfrey, from Latin berfrēdus, from Frankish bergafriþu, from Proto-Germanic bergafriþuz, equivalent to barrow + frith. English forms containing bel- as opposed to ber- were preferred due to false association with bell. Cognate with Middle High German bërcvrit, bërvrit (“defensive tower”) (modern German Bergfried), Middle Dutch bergfrede, bergfert. a doublet of bergfried.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Buildings & Architecture

Practise this word

belfry in the wild

  • The belfry ( BEL-free) is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple.

    Belfry

  • A belfry encloses the bell chamber, the room in which the bells are housed; its walls are pierced by openings which allow the sound to escape.

    Belfry

  • The town is noted for the free-standing belfry of the Protestant church.

    Gemzse

  • The advantage of the free-standing belfry, found in many villages in the area, is that the bell can easily be rung from ground level.

    Gemzse

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.