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View synonyms for rafter

rafter

1

[ raf-ter, rahf- ]

noun

  1. any of a series of timbers or the like, usually having a pronounced slope, for supporting the sheathing and covering of a roof.


verb (used with object)

  1. British Dialect. to plow (a field) so that the soil of a furrow is pushed over onto an unplowed adjacent strip.

rafter

2

[ raf-ter, rahf- ]

noun

  1. a person who engages in the sport or pastime of rafting.
  2. a person who travels on a raft, especially to flee a country.

rafter

3

[ raf-ter, rahf- ]

noun

  1. a flock, especially of turkeys.

rafter

/ ˈrɑːftə /

noun

  1. any one of a set of sloping beams that form the framework of a roof
“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


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Other Words From

  • raf·tered adjective
  • un·raf·tered adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of rafter1

First recorded before 900; Middle English rafter, raftre, ræfter “beam, pole, rafter,” Old English ræfter; cognate with Middle Dutch rachter, rafter “plank, beam,” Middle Low German rafter, rachter, Old Norse raptr “log” (in plural, “rafters”); See raft 1

Origin of rafter2

First recorded in 1740–45; raft 1( def ) + -er 1( def )

Origin of rafter3

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Word History and Origins

Origin of rafter1

Old English ræfter ; related to Old Saxon rehter , Old Norse raptr , Old High German rāvo ; see raft 1
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Example Sentences

She knows the location of the hidden trapdoor that leads to the rafters of the arch above the nave.

In one performance at Union Chapel, a soaring church and performance venue in London, he almost literally shook the rafters.

For more than two years, home for Curt Bloch was a tiny crawl space below the rafters of a modest brick home in Enschede, a Dutch city near the German border.

The first scene we ever shot was swinging from the rafters.

From Salon

“If the big institutions are not swinging for the rafters, why are we here?”

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