garret

What it means

1. An attic or semi-finished room just beneath the roof of a house.

   While a boon to garret-living, financially struggling young musicians, the library has caught the attention of music publishers.

   2011 February 22, Daniel J. Wakin, “Free Trove of Music Scores on Web Hits Sensitive Copyright Note”, in New York Times

   3 more examples

   This morning (we living lately in the garret,) I rose, put on my suit with great skirts, having not lately worn any other clothes but them.

   1660 January 10 (date written; Gregorian calendar), Samuel Pepys, Mynors Bright, transcriber, “January 1st, 1659–1660”, in Henry B[enjamin] Wheatley, editor, The Diary of Samuel Pepys […], volume (please specify |volume=I to X), London: George Bell & Sons […]; Cambridge: Deighton Bell & Co., published 1893–1899, →OCLC

   On an exceptionally hot evening early in July a young man came out of the garret in which he lodged in S. Place and walked slowly, as though in hesitation, towards K. bridge.

   1866, Fyodor Dostoyevsky (translated by Constance Garnett), Crime and Punishment, Part I, Chapter I

   I was in the main garret, with huge beams and rafters over my head, great spaces around me, a door here and there in sight, and long vistas whose gloom was thinned by a few lurking cobwebbed windows and small dusky skylights.

   1895, George MacDonald, Lilith

In a sentence

This morning (we living lately in the garret,) I rose, put on my suit with great skirts, having not lately worn any other clothes but them.

1660 January 10 (date written; Gregorian calendar), Samuel Pepys, Mynors Bright, transcriber, “January 1st, 1659–1660”, in Henry B[enjamin] Wheatley, editor, The Diary of Samuel Pepys […], volume (please specify |volume=I to X), London: George Bell & Sons […]; Cambridge: Deighton Bell & Co., published 1893–1899, →OCLC

Where it comes from

1. Old Frenchgarite
2. Middle Englishgarett
3. Englishgarret

From Middle English garett, garite, from Old French garite, guerite (“watchtower”), from garir, guarir (“to defend, protect”) (compare English garrison), ultimately of Germanic origin (see English garage). Doublet of guerite.