different between belltower vs belfry

English

Noun

belltower (plural belltowers)

1. Alternative spelling of bell tower

English

Etymology

From 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 (“'protect peace', a defensive tower”), possibly via Late Latin berefredus, from Proto-Germanic *bergafriþuz, from Proto-Indo-European *b?er??, *b?r??? + *pr?y-, *pr?y- (“to like, love”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: b?l?fr?, IPA^(key): /?b?lf?i/

Noun

belfry (plural belfries)

1. (obsolete) A movable tower used in sieges.
2. (dialectal) A shed.
3. (obsolete) An alarm-tower; a watchtower containing an alarm-bell.
4. (architecture) A tower or steeple specifically for containing bells, especially as part of a church.
5. (architecture) A part of a large tower or steeple, specifically for containing bells.
   • Episode 12, The Cyclops

     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.

Derived terms

• have bats in one's belfry, have bats in the belfry

Translations

References

• 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