acampanada

Acampanada is a term used in Spanish with more than one sense. It is derived from campana, bell, and the suffix -ada, and can function as a noun or an adjective, depending on context. In common usage, it appears most often in formal or literary descriptions rather than everyday speech.

As a noun, acampanada refers to the act or result of bells being rung, or to a single bell-ringing event. It can denote the signal produced by bells at a specific moment, such as the hour or a ceremonial time, and is frequently found in expressions like las acampanadas de medianoche or la acampanada del reloj. In religious, civil, or commemorative settings the term emphasizes the audible cue provided by bell sounds.

As an adjective, acampanada describes something with a bell-shaped form. This sense is used in fields such as botany to describe flowers with a bell-shaped corolla, in architecture to characterize domes or vaults with a bell-like profile, and in geology or zoology in occasional descriptive passages. For example, flores acampanadas or cúpula acampanada would be understood as having a bell-shaped appearance.

Usage notes: acampanada is relatively formal and specialized. In many everyday contexts, speakers may prefer campanada for the bell sound, or campaniforme or campanado for the bell-shaped sense. The term is most often encountered in dictionaries, academic writing, architectural or botanical descriptions, and literary prose.

See also: campanada, campanario, campaniforme.