belfry
belfries
A belfry is a part of a tall tower or steeple that holds bells. Those bells are loud — you would not want to be up in the belfry when they start ringing at noon!
A typical belfry is at the top of a church steeple. It's open on all sides so the sound of the ringing bells can escape — if you look up, you can see the large bells through the openings in the belfry. The word comes from roots meaning "to protect" and "peace," and the original meaning was "wooden watch tower." These ancient belfries held watchmen, but also warning bells. The phrase "bats in the belfry" describes someone who's quite eccentric.
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a bell tower
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synonyms:
campanile
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examples:
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Leaning Tower of Pisa
a tall round marble campanile in Pisa that is not perpendicular; construction was begun in 1174
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type of:
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bell tower
a tower that supports or shelters a bell
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Leaning Tower of Pisa
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a room (often at the top of a tower) where bells are hung
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type of:
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room
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
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room
Vocabulary lists containing belfry
In this autobiographical work, Jo Ann Allen Boyce recounts her experience of being one of the first Black children to integrate a public high school in Clinton, Tennessee, following desegregation in the late 1950s.
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Sweet, angelic Sophie and moody Agatha are shocked when Agatha is sent to the School for Good and Sophie is sent to the School for Evil. Did the School Master make a mistake or does he know the two girls better than they know themselves?
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