Adjacent Words

Rafter definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

R'AFTER, n. [Gr. to cover; a roof.]
A roof timber; a piece of timber that extends from the plate of a building to the ridge and serves to support the covering of the roof.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: one of several parallel sloping beams that support a roof [syn: rafter, balk, baulk]
2: someone who travels by raft [syn: raftsman, raftman, rafter] v
1: provide (a ceiling) with rafters

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English ræfter; akin to Old Norse raptr rafter Date: before 12th century any of the parallel beams that support a roof • raftered adjective II. noun Etymology: ²raft Date: 1809 1. one who maneuvers logs into position and binds them into rafts 2. one who travels by raft

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. each of the sloping beams forming the framework of a roof. Derivatives: raftered adj. Etymology: OE ræfter, rel. to RAFT(1) 2. n. 1 a person who rafts timber. 2 a person who travels by raft.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rafter Raft"er, n. A raftsman.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rafter Raft"er, n. [AS. r[ae]fter; akin to E. raft, n. See Raft.] (Arch.) Originally, any rough and somewhat heavy piece of timber. Now, commonly, one of the timbers of a roof which are put on sloping, according to the inclination of the roof. See Illust. of Queen-post. [Courtesy] oft is sooner found in lowly sheds, With smoky rafters, than in tapestry halls. --Milton.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rafter Raft"er, v. t. 1. To make into rafters, as timber. 2. To furnish with rafters, as a house. 3. (Agric.) To plow so as to turn the grass side of each furrow upon an unplowed ridge; to ridge. [Eng.]

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(rafters) Rafters are the sloping pieces of wood that support a roof. From the rafters of the thatched roofs hung strings of dried onions and garlic. N-COUNT: usu pl

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

raf'-ter (So 1:17).

See GALLERY; HOUSE.

Moby Thesaurus

H beam, I beam, angle rafter, balk, batten, boom, box girder, breastsummer, corbel, crossbeam, crosstie, footing beam, girder, hammer beam, hip rafter, joist, lattice girder, lintel, plate girder, ridge strut, ridgepole, sill, sleeper, sprit, stringpiece, strut, stud, studding, summer, summertree, tie, tie beam, transom, transverse, trave, traverse, truss, truss beam