soffit

[ sof-it ]
See synonyms for soffit on Thesaurus.com
nounArchitecture.
  1. the underside of an architectural feature, as a beam, arch, ceiling, vault, or cornice.

Origin of soffit

1
1605–15; <French soffite<Italian soffitto<Vulgar Latin *suffīctus, for Latin suffīxus;see suffix

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How to use soffit in a sentence

  • At the age of twenty-six he had already painted Soffits, in the manner of his kinsman “Boucher, to say it with respect.”

  • At the point where this cutting away occurs, fix the soffits of the passages.

  • The soffits of the ceiling have panels of yellow with orange border, contrasting with iron beams painted a chocolate brown.

  • The panelled step ends and soffits, the graceful newels and balusters, of those old staircases hold sway as models to this day.

    Home Life in Colonial Days | Alice Morse Earle
  • The transition character of these is emphasised by the mouldings in the soffits being continuations of those in the side piers.

    The Story of Chartres | Cecil Headlam

British Dictionary definitions for soffit

soffit

/ (ˈsɒfɪt) /


noun
  1. the underside of a part of a building or a structural component, such as an arch, beam, stair, etc

  2. Also called: crown, vertex the upper inner surface of a drain or sewer: Compare invert (def. 6)

Origin of soffit

1
C17: via French from Italian soffitto, from Latin suffixus something fixed underneath, from suffīgere, from sub- under + fīgere to fasten

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012