soffit

[sof-it]

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noun Architecture.

the underside of an architectural feature, as a beam, arch, ceiling, vault, or cornice.

Origin of soffit

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

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

Related Words for soffit

rim, sole, root, belly, underneath

Examples from the Web for soffit

Historical Examples of soffit

The soffit is flat, with a round moulding at the inner and the outer edge.
The Story of Chartres
Cecil Headlam
A projection upon the soffit of the Doric corona, which originally marked the position of the rafter-ends beneath the sheathing.
History of Ancient Art
Franz von Reber
The lower surface or soffit of the arch is the intrados, E, and the upper surface the extrados, F.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 4
Various
Flat arch, where the soffit is horizontal and sometimes slightly cambered (dotted line).
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 4
Various
They have a heavy abacus, which, as well as the soffit of the round arch, is enriched with flowered work.
Sketches from the Subject and Neighbour Lands of Venice
Edward A. Freeman

British Dictionary definitions for soffit

soffit

noun

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

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

Word Origin for soffit

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

Word Origin and History for soffit

architectural term referring to under-faces, 1610s, from Italian soffita, fem. of soffitto "ceiling," noun use of adjective meaning "fixed beneath," from Vulgar Latin *suffictus "fastened below," from Latin suffixus (see suffix (n.)).