Origin and history of roof

roof(n.)

"outer upper covering of a house or other building," Middle English rof, from Old English hrof "roof," also "ceiling," hence figuratively "highest point, top, summit" also "heaven, the sky;" from Proto-Germanic *khrofam (source also of Old Frisian rhoof "roof," Middle Dutch roof, rouf "cover, roof," Dutch roef "deckhouse, cabin, coffin-lid," Middle High German rof "penthouse," Old Norse hrof "boat shed").

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No apparent connections outside Germanic. "English alone has retained the word in a general sense, for which the other languages use forms corresponding to OE. þæc thatch" [OED]. Meaning "top of a carriage, etc." is by 1706. The meaning "upper part of the mouth, the hard palate" was in late Old English (hrof ðæs muðes). To raise the roof "create an uproar" is attested from 1860, originally in U.S. Southern dialect.

roof(v.)

"provide a roof for, cover with a roof," early 15c., rofen, from roof (n.). Related: Roofed; roofing.

also from early 15c.

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Entries linking to roof

roofer(n.)

"one who makes or repairs roofs," 1835, agent noun from roof (v.).

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roofline(n.)

also roof-line, "the outline or silhouette of a roof or range of roofs," by 1829, from roof (n.) + line (n.).

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ceiling
mid-14c., celynge, "act of paneling a room," noun formed (with -ing) from Middle English verb ceil "put a cover or ceiling over," later "cover (walls) with wainscoting, panels, etc." (early 15c.); from Old French celer "conceal," also "cover with paneling" (12c.), from Latin cela
cap
late Old English cæppe "hood, head-covering, cape," a general Germanic borrowing (compare Old Frisian and Middle Dutch kappe, Old High German chappa) from Late Latin cappa "a cape, hooded cloak" (source of Spanish capa, Old North French cape, French chape), a word of uncertain or
eave
"lower part of a roof," especially that which projects beyond the wall, 1570s, alteration of southwest Midlands dialectal...eovese (singular), from Old English efes "edge of a roof," also "edge of a forest," from Proto-Germanic *ubaswo-/*ubiswo..."vestibule, porch, eaves" (source also of Old Frisian ose "eaves," Old High German obasa "porch, hall, roof," German Obsen...
penthouse
c. 1300, pentis, pendize, "a shed or sloping roof projecting from a main wall or the side or end of a building," from Anglo-French...etymology influence of French pente "slope," and English house (the meaning at that time was "attached building with a sloping roof...English homilies describe the stable where Jesus was born as a "penthouse"); meaning "apartment or small house built on the roof...
thatch
late 14c., thecchen, from Old English þeccan "to cover, cover over, conceal," in late Old English specifically "cover the roof...of a house," related to þæc "roof, thatching material," from Proto-Germanic *thakjan (source also of Old Saxon thekkian,...
tile
(Old Saxon tiegla, Old High German ziagal, German ziegel, Dutch tegel, Old Norse tigl), a borrowing from Latin tegula "roof-tile..." (source also of Italian tegola, French tuile), from tegere "to roof, to cover," from PIE root *(s)teg- "to cover."...
imbrication
"an overlapping of edges" (as of roof tiles, etc.), 1640s, from French imbrication, noun of action from stem of Latin imbricare..."to cover with tiles," from imbricem (nominative imbrex) "curved roof tile used to draw off rain," from imber (genitive...
omnibus
1829, "long-bodied, four-wheeled public vehicle with seats for passengers," from French (voiture) omnibus "(carriage) for all, common (conveyance)," from Latin omnibus "for all," dative plural of omnis "all" (see omni-). Introduced by Jacques Lafitte in Paris in 1819 or '20, used
edifice
late 14c., from Old French edifice "building" (12c.), from Latin aedificium "building," from aedificare "to erect a building," from aedis, variant of aedes "temple, sanctuary," usually a single edifice without partitions, also, in the plural, "dwelling house, building," originall
building
c. 1300, "a structure;" late 14c., "act or process of constructing;" verbal noun from build (v.). Building-block is attested from 1846 as "one of a set of children's play blocks;" 1849 as "temporary support on which a ship's keel rests while the ship is being constructed;" 1856 a
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Dictionary entries near roof