Meaning

noun a bell tower; usually stands alone unattached to a building

noun a room (often at the top of a tower) where bells are hung

originFrom 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…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0