joist

[joist]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR joist ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

any of a number of small, parallel beams of timber, steel, reinforced concrete, etc., for supporting floors, ceilings, or the like.

verb (used with object)

to furnish with or fix on joists.

RELATED WORDS

stud, beam, brace

Origin of joist

1325–75; Middle English giste < Old French < Latin *jacitum support, noun use of neuter of Latin jacitus (past participle of jacēre to lie), equivalent to jaci- variant stem + -tus past participle suffix

Related formsjoist·less, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for joist

Historical Examples of joist

He put his knee against it and shoved, but the joist held firm.
The Web of the Golden Spider
Frederick Orin Bartlett
Fitz moved, joist in hand, towards the other side of the clump.
Fitz the Filibuster
George Manville Fenn
A joist was found on one end, driven nearly three feet into the ground.
The Book of Curiosities
I. Platts
No man, other than a union carpenter, would be allowed to even set a joist.
30,000 Locked Out.
James C. Beeks
A roar of applause shook every board and joist of the building.
The Every-day Life of Abraham Lincoln
Francis Fisher Browne

British Dictionary definitions for joist

joist

noun

a beam made of timber, steel, or reinforced concrete, used in the construction of floors, roofs, etcSee also rolled-steel joist

verb

(tr) to construct (a floor, roof, etc) with joists

Word Origin for joist

C14: from Old French giste beam supporting a bridge, from Vulgar Latin jacitum (unattested) support, from jacēre to lie

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

Word Origin and History for joist

early 14c. (late 13c. in Anglo-Latin), from Old French giste "beam supporting a bridge" (Modern French gîte), noun use of fem. past participle of gesir "to lie," from Latin iacere "to lie, rest," related to iacere "to throw" (see jet (v.)). Notion is of wooden beam on which boards "lie down."