eaves

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See also: Eaves

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

PIE word
*upér
Eaves of the Casa Generalife, a house in Barcelona, Spain.

From Middle English eves (projecting lower edge of a roof) [and other forms],[1] from Old English efes, yfes, *ofes (edge of a roof), from Proto-West Germanic *ubisu (hall), from Proto-Germanic *ubiswō (compare Gothic 𐌿𐌱𐌹𐌶𐍅𐌰 (ubizwa), Old High German obasa (hall; porch; roof)), perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *upér (above; over) (whence over).[2][3]

Noun

eaves pl (plural only)

  1. (architecture) The underside of a roof that extends beyond the external walls of a building.
  2. (by extension) Something that extends over or projects beyond.
Alternative forms
Translations

Etymology 2

From eave +‎ -s, from a misinterpretation of the -s ending of eaves as forming a plural.[2]

Noun

eaves

  1. plural of eave

References

  1. ^ ēves, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Compare eaves, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, December 2020.
  3. ^ eaves, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading

Anagrams