bellhouse

English

Alternative forms

• bell-house

Etymology

From Middle English belhous, bellehous, from Old English belhūs, bellhūs, equivalent to bell +‎ house.

Noun

bellhouse (plural bellhouses)

1. A structure housing a bell or bells; bell tower; belfry
   • 1890, The Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage & Companionage of the British Empire:

     To constitute a Thane, it was necessary that he should possess a distinct office in the King's Court; or, being a churle or countryman, that he should have “fully five hides of his own land, a church, a kitchen, a bellhouse, and a boroughgate with a seat.”

   • 2016, J. Thorsten Sellin, Slavery and the Penal System:

     Such houses were called Schallenwerke, or bellhouses, because while at work the prisoners, always in chains, had bells attached to the iron neck bands they wore.

Derived terms

• Ramsden Bellhouse

Anagrams

• blue holes