campanile

cam·pa·ni·le
C3A1M3P3A1N1I1L1E1
UK/kæmpəˈniːleɪ/UK, rare/ˈkæmpənɪl/UK/-aɪl/US/ˌkæmpəˈnili/

noun

A bell tower (especially one that is freestanding), often associated with a church or other public building, especially in Italy.

“The Leaning Tower of Pisa is a campanile.”

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Less commonScrabble 15

Meanings

campanile1

nouncampanile (plural campaniles or campanili)

plural campaniles · plural campanili

  1. A bell tower (especially one that is freestanding), often associated with a church or other public building, especially in Italy.

    The Leaning Tower of Pisa is a campanile.

    1 more example

    There was no doubt as to the direction, with the campanile of the duomo as a beacon. For a quarter of a mile the road is straight and narrow; then it broadens into an open space and Castel Franco appears.

    1914, E[dward] V[errall] Lucas, “Giorgione”, in A Wanderer in Venice, London: Methuen & Co. Ltd. […], →OCLC, pages 294–295

Campanile2

proper nounCampanile (plural Campaniles)

plural Campaniles

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna bell tower; usually stands alone unattached to a building

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Broader
Also see

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Italiancampanili
  2. Ancient Greekκαπάνη“felt helmet”
  3. Proto-Indo-European*kh₂em-“to bend, curve”
  4. LatinCampāna“region of Campania, Italy”
  5. Medieval Latincampāna“large bell used in late classical or medieval church towers or steeples; tower for such a bell, belfry, campanile”
  6. Italiancampanile“bell tower, belfry”
  7. Englishcampanile

Borrowed from Italian campanile (“bell tower, belfry”), from campana (“bell”) + -ile (suffix forming nouns indicating locations that host animals or objects). Campana is derived from Late Latin and Medieval Latin campāna (“large bell used in late classical or medieval church towers or steeples; tower for such a bell, belfry, campanile”), and then either: * traditionally regarded to be from Latin Campāna (“region of Campania, Italy”) (because bells were supposedly introduced in Christian services in Nola, a diocese of Campania, by Saint Paulinus (c. 354 – 431), though the story has been discredited), from Campānus (“relating to the region of Campania, Italy, or its inhabitants, Campanian”), from campus (“field, plain”) (from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂em- (“to bend, curve”)) + -ānus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives, which are sometimes used as nouns); or * from Ancient Greek καπάνη (kapánē, “felt helmet”) (apparently because of the similarity in shape). The plural form campanili is derived from Italian campanili.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian камбанария
  • камбанария (kambanarija)bell tower, especially in Italy — see also bell tower
Danish kampanile
  • kampanilebell tower, especially in Italy — see also bell tower
Finnish kellotapuli, kellotorni
  • kellotapulibell tower, especially in Italy — see also bell tower
  • kellotornibell tower, especially in Italy — see also bell tower
French campanile
  • campanilebell tower, especially in Italy — see also bell tower
Greek καμπαναριό
  • καμπαναριό (kampanarió)bell tower, especially in Italy — see also bell tower
Italian campanile
  • campanilebell tower, especially in Italy — see also bell tower
Norwegian Bokmål kampanile
  • kampanilebell tower, especially in Italy — see also bell tower
Russian колоко́льня
  • колоко́льня (kolokólʹnja)bell tower, especially in Italy — see also bell tower
Spanish campanil
  • campanilbell tower, especially in Italy — see also bell tower
Swedish kampanil
  • kampanilbell tower, especially in Italy — see also bell tower

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

campanile. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/campanile

MLA

“campanile.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/campanile. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “campanile,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/campanile.

Source: campanile on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.