belfry

noun

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.

1. A tower or steeple typically containing bells, especially as part of a church.

   ““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?””

2. A part of a large tower or steeple, specifically for containing bells.

   “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.”

3. A shed.
4. A movable tower used in sieges.
5. An alarm-tower; a watchtower possibly containing an alarm-bell.