purlin

American  

[pur-lin] / ˈpɜr lɪn /

Or purline

noun

1. a longitudinal member in a roof frame, usually for supporting common rafters or the like between the plate and the ridge.

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purlin British  

/ ˈpɜːlɪn /

noun

1. a horizontal beam that provides intermediate support for the common rafters of a roof construction

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Etymology

Origin of purlin

1400–50; late Middle English purlyn, purloyne, akin to Anglo-Latin perliō; of uncertain origin

Example Sentences

And whenever Hersey needs an idea and can't find one�it happens all the time�he uses a big word instead: cangue, coffle, fulvous, hame, jingal, liripipe, m�tayer, panyar, purlin, psora, shroff, sycee.*

From Time Magazine Archive

I shimmied the length of a purlin, which took me to the framing beam at the barn’s edge.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

I’d need to jump from purlin to purlin, about fifteen of them, spaced four feet apart, to get the chalk, then the same number back.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

One-half of Rory's purlin plate slipped from its splicing, the pin having been neglected in the furious haste, and swinging free, fell crashing through the timbers upon the scurrying, scrambling men below.

From The Doctor : a Tale of the Rockies by Connor, Ralph

I got up, and holding tightly to the purlin — for the waves made the masts tremble with their violence — I tried to look around and below me.

From The Survivors of the Chancellor by Verne, Jules