belfry
/ˈbɛlfɹi/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.56 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A tower or steeple typically containing bells, especially as part of a church.
noun
A part of a large tower or steeple, specifically for containing bells.
noun
A shed.
Example Sentences
- "“You know, this house does have a belfry filled with local bats. Maybe Laszlo went up there.” “Oh, so like my darling perverted husband, to sniff out the local bordello immediately upon arrival. [chuckles] Could you take me to the belfry?”"
- "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."
Etymology
From Middle English belfry, bellfray, belfray, berfrey, barfray, from Old French belfroi, berfroi, berfrey, from Late 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 English bell. Cognate with Middle High German bërcvrit, bërvrit (“defensive tower”) (modern German Bergfried), Middle Dutch bergfrede, bergfert. Doublet of bergfried.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: belfry, belfroi, berfrēdus, *bergafriþu, *bergafriþuz
Usage
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
have bats in one's belfry
have bats in the belfry