Some words in Russian speech remain relevant to this day, but have left the vocabulary of the inhabitants. One of them is the "belfry", a beautiful and capacious concept, which any native speaker can easily decipher. But what are its differences from the classical bell tower? Why use two different designations for identical architectural objects? To find out, you need to delve into the history of the term and its development.
Sonic origin
Even a layman can clearly see the connection with the “ringing" that existed even within the framework of the Pre-Slavic language. On the territory of Eastern Europe, one can meet consonant definitions, which translate as:
The source is also called the Indo-European svonos, which means “sound”, which over time has turned into a Latin sonus and Old Indian svanas. One of the versions of the emergence of the Russian word is considered to be similar to the verb “call”, because bells and similar-sounding devices often served to announce a general gathering or warning of danger.
Church service
What do contemporaries mean? Due to the preservation of the "bell" in the language, the classical meaning of the word "belfry" can be interpreted in several ways:
- Temple superstructure or independent structure for the installation of church bells.
- The same as the bell tower.
In the second meaning, it is used extremely rarely as a synonym. This is permissible, but not entirely correct in terms of wording. After all, the bell tower is an elongated part of the temple or a nearby building. It is too closed, it is difficult to observe the work of the ringer, if you do not look closely.
The term being studied is more ambiguous. If he points to a separate building, then it will be a squat and elongated building, where many ringers will easily fit. This is also called the add-in in the form of a long partially open gallery with several places for fixing bells. When there is not enough space in the temple, architects install an arch directly on the wall. An independent wall-like structure near religious sites is also acceptable.
Right use
There are no strict rules on the use of the word. But most often in the mouth of the speaker the belfry is an unusual wall with special openings for hanging bells. The design is lightweight, miniature, which gives great scope for choosing a place of construction. The openwork structure looks very elegant and serves as a real decoration, and also makes it possible to demonstrate the art of bell ringers to parishioners and tourists.