roof English · revision 4622

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=a. 900|origins=gem-pro *hrōfą}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ruːf/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|rof]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) [[inh|ang|hrōf|t=roof, ceiling; top, summit; the sky]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gem-pro|*hrōfą|alt=*khrofam]],^(Etymonline) also the source of Old Frisian hrōf, Dutch roef “deckhouse, cabin” and Old Norse hróf “boat shed”.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) It has no certain cognates outside Germanic,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) though Barnhart compares Old Church Slavonic stropŭ “roof”.^(Barnhart 1988) English alone has kept the word in the general sense; the other Germanic languages use words corresponding to [[thatch]].^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The outside upper covering of a house: before 900 in the OED,^(OED 1989) about 725 in Barnhart, in Beowulf.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Under one's roof'', in one's house, is from about 950,^(OED 1989) and a roof as a symbol of home from 1591.^(OED 1989) The roof of the mouth, the palate, was already late Old English.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) The top of a carriage is by 1706,^(Etymonline) and ''raise the roof'', to make an uproar, from 1860, originally in American Southern dialect.^(Etymonline) The verb, to cover with a roof, is from before 1420, in Lydgate's Troy Book.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) ''Roofless'' is from 1610,^(Barnhart 1988) and ''roofer'' from 1855.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * a. 900 – the top covering of a building.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 950 – ''under one's roof''.^(OED 1989)

+ * a. 1420 – verb.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1706 – the top of a carriage.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1855 – ''roofer''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1860 – ''raise the roof''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The structure forming the top covering of a [[building]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A house or home: ''a roof over one's head''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The top covering of a vehicle or other structure.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The upper part of the mouth, the [[palate]], or of a cave or tunnel.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To cover with a roof.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[roofed]]

+ * [[roofless]]

+ * [[rooflike]]

+ * [[roofer]]

+ * [[reroof]]

+ * [[roofline]]

+ * [[underroof]]

+ * [[rooftop]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[thatch]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The plural is usually roofs, but rooves is also heard in Britain.^(Roach et al. 2011)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}