penthouse English · revision 1407

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1325}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈpɛnt(h)aʊs/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|pentis]], [[m|enm|pendize]], altered by folk etymology through association with [[frm|pente|t=slope]] and English [[house]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(Hoad 1986) The Middle English word is [[bor|xno|pentiz]], a shortening of [[fro|apentis|t=attached building, appendage]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[m|fro|apent]], past participle of [[m|fro|apendre|t=to belong, depend, hang against]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) from [[la-med|appendicium|t=appendage]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[la|appendere|t=to hang, suspend]] (see [[append]]).^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A shed or sloping roof attached to the wall of a main building, a lean-to (c. 1325 in the OED and Merriam-Webster's ''Word Histories''; about 1300 in Barnhart and Etymonline).^(OED 1989)^(MW Word Histories)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) The earliest known example is a metrical sermon describing the wall-less ''pendize'' that sheltered Joseph and Mary.^(MW Word Histories)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The modern spelling dates from about 1530, when the word still meant an attached building with a sloping roof or an awning;^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) the association with French ''pente'' introduced the idea of a slope.^(Weekley 1921) Johnson (1755) defines it as a shed hanging aslope from the main wall, quoting Shakespeare's ''Merchant of Venice''.^(Johnson 1755) In real tennis it is the sloping roof along three sides of the court (17th century).^(RHWU)^(AHD) The sense of a structure or dwelling built on the roof of a building is from the 19th century,^(RHWU)^(MW Collegiate) and it has since come to suggest a luxurious apartment with wide views.^(Cresswell 2021)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – ''pendize'', a lean-to.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1364 – ''pentys''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * c. 1530 – ''penthouse''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1615 – verb, to furnish with a penthouse.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An apartment or dwelling on the roof or top floor of a building, often with a [[terrace]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A structure on the roof of a building housing machinery, such as a lift or water tank.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A shed or sloping roof attached to the side of a building or wall; a [[lean-to]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(real tennis)'' The sloping roof along three sides of the court, off which the ball is served.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[penthouselike]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[append]]

+ * [[appendix]]

+ * [[pendant]]

+ * [[lean-to]]

+ * [[pent]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}