Meanings
plural bellhouses · alternative bell-house
- A structure housing a bell or bells; bell tower; belfry
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.
2016, J. Thorsten Sellin, Slavery and the Penal System1 more example
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.”
1890, The Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage & Companionage of the British Empire
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Old Englishbelhūs
- Middle Englishbelhous
- Englishbellhouse
From Middle English belhous, bellehous, from Old English belhūs, bellhūs, equivalent to bell + house.
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
bellhouse. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bellhouse
“bellhouse.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bellhouse. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bellhouse,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bellhouse.
Source: bellhouse on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.