rafter
1- any of a series of timbers or the like, usually having a pronounced slope, for supporting the sheathing and covering of a roof.
- British Dialect. to plow (a field) so that the soil of a furrow is pushed over onto an unplowed adjacent strip.
Origin of rafter
1rafter
2rafter
3- a flock, especially of turkeys.
Origin of rafter
3Related Words for rafter
pole, strip, bail, timber, bolster, scaffolding, stanchion, prop, trestle, pile, boom, stud, spar, brace, girder, balk, joist, reach, strut, axleExamples from the Web for rafter
Contemporary Examples of rafter
Mule strung the two women, with their consent and help, from a rafter with strategically placed soft ropes.
Historical Examples of rafter
As one end was made fast to a rafter, it hung dangling from the window.
Frank Merriwell's BraveryBurt L. Standish
The end of the rafter is cut at right angles, so the face-board is at an angle.
Carpentry for BoysJ. S. Zerbe
Every pole, every beam, and every rafter of the frame, is all made of hollow bamboo.
Fil and FilippaJohn Stuart Thomson
I'll fix the noose and jump with it from the rafter, then you can look for me!
The Power of DarknessLeo Tolstoy
He took another grip on the rafter just as he would have let go.
Children of the TenementsJacob A. Riis
rafter
- any one of a set of sloping beams that form the framework of a roof
Word Origin for rafter
Word Origin and History for rafter
"sloping timber of a roof," Old English ræftras (West Saxon), reftras (Mercian), both plural, related to Old Norse raptr "log," from Proto-Germanic *raf-tra-, from PIE *rap-tro-, from root *rep- "stake, beam."