late 14c., thecchen, from Old English þeccan "to cover, cover over, conceal," in late Old English specifically "cover the roof of a house," related to þæc "roof, thatching material," from Proto-Germanic *thakjan (source also of Old Saxon thekkian, Old Norse þekja, Old Frisian thekka, Middle Dutch decken, Dutch dekken, Old High German decchen, German decken "to cover"), from PIE root *(s)teg- "to cover."
"hipped roof," 1851, short for gambrel roof (1763), so called for its shape, from gambrel "horse's hind leg" (c. 1600), earlier "wooden bar to hang carcasses" (1540s), perhaps from Old North French gamberel, from gambe "leg," from Late Latin gamba "horse's hock or leg" (see gambol (n.)).
"lower part of a roof," especially that which projects beyond the wall, 1570s, alteration of southwest Midlands dialectal eovese (singular), from Old English efes "edge of a roof," also "edge of a forest," from Proto-Germanic *ubaswo-/*ubiswo "vestibule, porch, eaves" (source also of Old Frisian ose "eaves," Old High German obasa "porch, hall, roof," German Obsen, Old Norse ups, Gothic ubizwa "porch;" German oben "above"), from extended form of PIE root *upo "under," also "up from under," hence also "over." Regarded as plural and a new singular form eave emerged 16c.
"an overlapping of edges" (as of roof tiles, etc.), 1640s, from French imbrication, noun of action from stem of Latin imbricare "to cover with tiles," from imbricem (nominative imbrex) "curved roof tile used to draw off rain," from imber (genitive imbris) "rain, heavy rain; rainwater," from PIE *ombh-ro- "rain" (source also of Sanskrit abhra "cloud, thunder-cloud, rainy weather," Greek ombros "rain, a shower"), from root *nebh- "moist; water" (see nebula).
late 14c., "roof of the mouth of a human or animal; the parts which separate the oral from the nasal cavity," from Old French palat and directly from Latin palatum "roof of the mouth," also "a vault," which is perhaps of Etruscan origin [Klein], but de Vaan suggests an IE root meaning "flat, broad, wide." It was popularly considered to be the seat of the sense of taste, hence transferred meaning "sense of taste" (late 14c.), which also was in classical Latin.
"movable roof-like covering of canvas for a window, etc., as a protection from the sun's rays," 1624, a word of uncertain origin (first recorded use is by Capt. John Smith), perhaps from French auvans, plural of auvent "a sloping roof," "itself of doubtful etym[ology]" (OED). A nautical term only until the sense of "cover for windows or porch" emerged 1852.
type of sloped roof, 1734, from French mansarde, short for toit à la mansarde, a corrupt spelling, named for French architect Nicholas François Mansart (1598-1666), who made use of them.
c. 1300, garite, "turret, small tower on the roof of a house or castle," from Old French garite "watchtower, place of refuge, shelter, lookout," from garir "defend, preserve," which is from a Germanic source (compare Old English warian "to hold, defend," Gothic warjan "forbid," Old High German warjan "to defend"), from Proto-Germanic *warjan, from PIE root *wer- (4) "to cover." Meaning "room on uppermost floor of a house," especially a room with a sloping roof, is from early 14c. See attic. As the typical wretched abode of a poor poet, by mid-18c.
