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Webster 1913 Edition

Roof

Roof

,
Noun.
[OE.
rof
, AS.
hr[GREEK]f
top, roof; akin to D.
roef
cabin, Icel.
hr[GREEK]f
a shed under which ships are built or kept; cf. OS.
hr[GREEK]st
roof, Goth.
hr[GREEK]t
. Cf.
Roost
.]
1.
(Arch.)
The cover of any building, including the roofing (see
Roofing
) and all the materials and construction necessary to carry and maintain the same upon the walls or other uprights. In the case of a building with vaulted ceilings protected by an outer roof, some writers call the vault the roof, and the outer protection the roof mask. It is better, however, to consider the vault as the ceiling only, in cases where it has farther covering.
2.
That which resembles, or corresponds to, the covering or the ceiling of a house;
as, the
roof
of a cavern; the
roof
of the mouth.
The flowery
roof

Showered roses, which the morn repaired.
Milton.
3.
(Mining.)
The surface or bed of rock immediately overlying a bed of coal or a flat vein.
Bell roof
,
French roof
,
etc.
(Arch.)
See under
Bell
,
French
, etc.
–
Flat roof
.
(Arch.)
(a)
A roof actually horizontal and level, as in some Oriental buildings
.
(b)
A roof nearly horizontal, constructed of such material as allows the water to run off freely from a very slight inclination.
–
Roof plate
.
(Arch.)
See
Plate
,
Noun.
, 10.

Roof

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Roofed
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Roofing
.]
1.
To cover with a roof.
I have not seen the remains of any Roman buildings that have not been
roofed
with vaults or arches.
Addison.
2.
To inclose in a house; figuratively, to shelter.
Here had we now our country’s honor
roofed
.
Shakespeare

Webster 1828 Edition

Roof

ROOF

, n.
1.
The cover or upper part of a house or other building, consisting of rafters covered with boards, shingles or tiles, with a side or sides sloping from the ridge, for the purpose of carrying off the water that falls in rain or snow. In Asia, the roofs of houses are flat or horizontal. The same name, roof, is given to the sloping covers of huts, cabins and ricks; to the arches of ovens, furnaces, &c.
2.
A vault; an arch; or the interior of a vault; as the roof of heaven.
3.
The vault of the mouth; the upper part of the mouth; the palate.
If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth. Ps. 137.

ROOF

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To cover with a roof.
I have not seen the remains of any Roman buildings, that have not been roofed with vaults or arches.
2.
To inclose in a house; to shelter.
Here had we now our country's honor roof'd.

Definition 2024

Roof

Roof

See also: roof

English

Proper noun

Roof

  1. (astronomy) A Chinese constellation located near Aquarius and Pegasus, one of the 28 lunar mansions and part of the larger Black Turtle.

Synonyms

roof

roof

See also: Roof

English

Tiled roofs covering buildings

Noun

roof ‎(plural roofs or rooves)

  1. The cover at the top of a building.
    • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
      Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path […]. It twisted and turned, […] and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn. And, back of the lawn, was a big, old-fashioned house, with piazzas stretching in front of it, and all blazing with lights. 'Twas the house I'd seen the roof of from the beach.
    • 1931, Robert L. May, Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Montgomery Ward (publisher), draft:
      The very first sound that you’ll hear on the roof / (Provided there’s fog) will be Rudolph’s small hoof.
  2. The upper part of a cavity.
    • 2011 October 1, John Sinnott, “Aston Villa 2-0 Wigan”, in BBC Sport:
      As Bent pulled away to the far post, Agbonlahor opted to go it alone, motoring past Gary Caldwell before unleashing a shot into the roof of the net.
    The palate is the roof of the mouth.‎
    Archaeologists discovered that the cave's roof was decked with paintings.‎
  3. (mining) The surface or bed of rock immediately overlying a bed of coal or a flat vein.

Usage notes

  • The plural rooves is uncommon and is considered by some to be incorrect, though it is parallel to more common plurals like hooves and staves.
  • In referring to the top of a building, refers both to the object itself (“the roof was blown off in the tornado”) and to the location of being on the roof (“it can be dangerous to go up to the roof to fix the antenna”). In the later sense (of location) it is often used attributively, largely interchangeably with rooftop.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

roof ‎(third-person singular simple present roofs, present participle roofing, simple past and past participle roofed)

  1. To cover or furnish with a roof.
  2. To traverse buildings by walking or climbing across their roofs.

Derived terms

Translations

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -oːf

Etymology

From Middle Dutch roof, from Old Dutch *rōf, *rouf, from Proto-Germanic *raubaz. More at robe.

Noun

roof m ‎(plural roven, diminutive roofje n)

  1. robbery, robbing, banditry, rapine

Derived terms

Related terms

Verb

roof

  1. first-person singular present indicative of roven
  2. imperative of roven

Etymology

A translation of Mandarin Chinese 危宿 ‎(Wēixiù)

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