different between watchtower vs belfry

English

Alternative forms

• watch-tower

Etymology

From watch +? tower.

Noun

watchtower (plural watchtowers)

1. An observation tower in which a lookout keeps watch over prisoners, or looks out for fires, etc.
   • 2002: Cecilia Dart-Thornton, The Ill-Made Mute: The Bitterbynde [1]

     Redcap - A malevolent goblin easily distinguishable by their namesake red cap, fiery red eyes, claws and iron boots. They often appear as little old men, but can run very fast despite the boots. They reside in castles and watchtowers along the English-Scottish border, but will move their residence to avoid detection.

Translations

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