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Wiktionary

roof

See also: Roof

Contents

EnglishEdit

 
English Wikipedia has an article on:
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Tiled roofs covering buildings.

PronunciationEdit

  • IPA(key): /ɹuːf/, /ɹʊf/
  • Audio (US)
    		(file)
    ,
    US (2)
    		(file)
  • Audio (UK)
    		(file)
  • Audio (CA)
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  • Rhymes: -ʊf, -uːf

Etymology 1Edit

From Middle English rof, from Old English hrōf (“roof, ceiling; top, summit; heaven, sky”), from Proto-Germanic *hrōfą (“roof”), from Proto-Indo-European *krāpo- (“roof”), from *krāwǝ- (“to cover, heap”).

Cognate with Scots ruif (“roof”), Dutch roef (“a cabin, wooden cover, deckhouse”), Low German rof (“roof”), Icelandic hróf (“a shed under which ships are built or kept, roof of a boathouse”).

NounEdit

roof (plural rooves or roofs)

  1. The external covering at the top of a building.
    The roof was blown off by the tornado.
  2. The top external level of a building.
    • 1962, Gerry Goffin & al., "Up on the Roof":
      When this old world starts getting me down
      And people are just too much for me to face,
      I climb way up to the top of the stairs
      And all my cares just drift right into space
      On the roof, it's peaceful as can be
      And there, the world below can't bother me...
    Let's go up to the roof.
  3. 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.
  4. (mining) The surface or bed of rock immediately overlying a bed of coal or a flat vein.
Usage notesEdit
  • Both roofs and rooves are listed as plurals in the Oxford Dictionary of English, 2005 edition, though there seems to be differences in usage between Britain and America.
SynonymsEdit
Derived termsEdit
Terms derived from roof (noun)
TranslationsEdit

Etymology 2Edit

From Middle English rofen, roven (“to roof”), from the noun (see above).

VerbEdit

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

  1. (transitive) To cover or furnish with a roof.
  2. To traverse buildings by walking or climbing across their roofs.
  3. (transitive, slang) To put into prison.
    • 1998 March 4, “Law and Disorder”, in Beverly Hills, 90210, season 08, episode 22:
      Did you see them, David? I mean, did you see them looking at me? I-I'm walking out of the court, and everybody was practically – yeah, they were gawking. […] I mean, Noah roofed me, I proved it, end of story.
    • 2000 January 1, Mr. Metaphor (lyrics), “Stupid”, in The Will Tell Compilation Vol. 1: Thats Right Inc., performed by Word A' Mouth, Block McCloud and Mr. Metaphor:
      I’m open, hype off the chronic I was smoking, feeling zooted
      That Brooklyn shit got me stupid
      I’m loose, kid – that’s what the overproof did
      What the ruck you looking at, son? You’ll get roofed, kid!
    • 2012 November 15, “Brown Bag Wrap”, in Rare Chandeliers, performed by Action Bronson:
      Inhale the mystical, the blue shit
      See me on the stoop shit, act stupid at the park, the ball, get roofed
      Baby see the cops, the drugs, she boofed it
      Foie gras at every meal, that means I triple-goosed it
    • 2018 May 5, AM (lyrics), “Attempted 1.0”, performed by Skengdo and AM of 410:
      You don’t want war, you’re shook of it
      Hella man dash when their friend got roofed
  4. (transitive) To shelter as if under a roof.
    • Thomas Greenbury
      They reached him: the pieces of rock had roofed him over—he was without injury or scratch.
    • Henry James
      It built him softly round, it roofed him warmly over, it rested, all so firm, on selection.
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit

AnagramsEdit

DutchEdit

EtymologyEdit

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

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

roof m (plural roven, diminutive roofje n)

  1. robbery, robbing, banditry, rapine

Derived termsEdit

Related termsEdit

VerbEdit

roof

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

Middle EnglishEdit

NounEdit

roof

  1. Alternative form of rof
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