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campanile

[kam-puh-nee-lee, -neel; Italian kahm-pah-nee-le]
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noun, plural cam·pa·ni·les [kam-puh-nee-leez, -neelz] /ˌkæm pəˈni liz, -ˈnilz/, cam·pa·ni·li [kam-puh-nee-lee; Italian kahm-pah-nee-lee] /ˌkæm pəˈni li; Italian ˌkɑm pɑˈni li/.

a bell tower, especially one freestanding from the body of a church.

Origin of campanile

1630–40; < Italian, equivalent to campan(a) bell (< Late Latin, probably noun use of Latin Campāna, feminine singular or neuter plural of Campānus of Campania, reputed to be a source of high-quality bronze casting in antiquity) + -ile locative suffix (< Latin -īle)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for campanile

spire, cupola, turret, minaret, head, dome, steeple, carillon, belfry, ziggurat

Examples from the Web for campanile

Historical Examples of campanile

  • The fall of the Campanile in 1904 was regarded as a calamity by all the civilized world.

    Italy, the Magic Land

    Lilian Whiting

  • Look back at the shore and see how St. Mark's and the Campanile stand out.

    The Story of Glass

    Sara Ware Bassett

  • A miracle was evidently in progress or the campanile was bewitched.

  • Harvey's picture of the Covenanters, with a shepherd on the outlook, as a campanile.

  • The campanile of the ancient Mission of San Juan seemed as fine as frost work.

    The Octopus

    Frank Norris

British Dictionary definitions for campanile

campanile

noun

(esp in Italy) a bell tower, not usually attached to another buildingCompare belfry

Word Origin for campanile

C17: from Italian, from campana bell
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for campanile
n.

1630s, from Italian, from campana "bell," from Late Latin campana, originally "metal vessel made in Campania," region around Naples.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper