Meanings
rafter1
plural rafters
- architectureOne of a series of sloped beams that extend from the ridge or hip to the downslope perimeter or eave, designed to support the roof deck and its associated loads.
[…] the pigeons fluttered up to the rafters
1943 November – 1944 February (date written; published 1945 August 17), George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Animal Farm […], London: Secker & Warburg, published May 1962, →OCLC - collectiveA flock of turkeys.
Sighting large flocks, or rafters, of turkeys is common in the area.
1997, News & Outdoor Report, page 102 more examples
A turkey will always seek the company of another turkey, and ultimately that of the rafter.
2013, Don Schrider, Storey's Guide to Raising Turkeys, Storey Publishing, LLC, page 4the sons went off to share the trip to market - swarms of swine and rafters of turkeys - whilst the elders stayed behind to keep the house warm.
2021, Marcia Wilson, The Exorcism of the Haunted Stick, Andrews UK
present singular third person rafters · participle present raftering · participle past raftered · past raftered
- transitiveTo make (timber, etc.) into rafters.
- transitiveTo furnish (a building) with rafters.
rafter2
Rafter3
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
rafter · noun, verb
- Old Englishræfter
- Englishrafter
From Old English ræfter, of Germanic origin, related to the origin of raft.
More words from Old English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek στρωτήρ
- στρωτήρ (strōtḗr)one of a series of sloped beams
Bulgarian мертек
- мертек (mertek)one of a series of sloped beams
Catalan biga, jàssena
- bigaone of a series of sloped beams
- jàssenaone of a series of sloped beams
- jàsseraone of a series of sloped beams
Chinese Mandarin 椽, 椽子
- 椽 (chuán)one of a series of sloped beams
- 椽子 (chuánzi)one of a series of sloped beams
Czech krokev
- krokevone of a series of sloped beams
Danish spær, tagspær
- spærone of a series of sloped beams
- tagspærone of a series of sloped beams
Dutch dakspant
- dakspantone of a series of sloped beams
Esperanto ĉevrono
- ĉevronoone of a series of sloped beams
Estonian sarikas
- sarikasone of a series of sloped beams
Finnish selkäpuu, yläpaarre
- selkäpuuone of a series of sloped beams
- yläpaarreone of a series of sloped beams
French chevron
- chevronone of a series of sloped beams
German Sparren
- Sparrenone of a series of sloped beams
Hawaiian kua, oʻa
- kuaone of a series of sloped beams
- oʻaone of a series of sloped beams
Hungarian tetőgerenda, szarufa
- tetőgerendaone of a series of sloped beams
- szarufaone of a series of sloped beams
Irish rachta
- rachtaone of a series of sloped beams
Italian passafuori, trave
- passafuorione of a series of sloped beams
- traveone of a series of sloped beams
- puntoneone of a series of sloped beams
Japanese 垂木
- 垂木 (taruki)one of a series of sloped beams
Korean 서까래
- 서까래 (seokkarae)one of a series of sloped beams
Latin trabs
- trabsone of a series of sloped beams
Lithuanian gegnė
- gegnėone of a series of sloped beams
Malay kasau
- kasauone of a series of sloped beams
Māori heke, nehe
- hekeone of a series of sloped beams
- neheone of a series of sloped beams
- okaone of a series of sloped beams
Persian فرسپ
- فرسپ (farasp)one of a series of sloped beams
Polish krokiew
- krokiewone of a series of sloped beams
Portuguese caibro, viga
- caibroone of a series of sloped beams
- vigaone of a series of sloped beams
- traveone of a series of sloped beams
Romanian căprior
- căpriorone of a series of sloped beams
Russian стропи́ло, ба́лка
- стропи́ло (stropílo)one of a series of sloped beams
- ба́лка (bálka)one of a series of sloped beams
Scottish Gaelic cabar
- cabarone of a series of sloped beams
Slovak krokva
- krokvaone of a series of sloped beams
Spanish viga, jácena
- vigaone of a series of sloped beams
- jácenaone of a series of sloped beams
Swedish taksparre, sparre
- taksparreone of a series of sloped beams
- sparreone of a series of sloped beams
Tagalog balakilan
- balakilanone of a series of sloped beams
Tamil கைமரம், கை
- கைமரம் (kaimaram)one of a series of sloped beams
- கை (kai)one of a series of sloped beams
Thai จันทัน
- จันทัน (jan-tan)one of a series of sloped beams
Turkish mertek
- mertekone of a series of sloped beams
Ukrainian кроква
- кроква (krokva)one of a series of sloped beams
Welsh tulath, ceibren
- tulathone of a series of sloped beams
- ceibrenone of a series of sloped beams
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with rafter
Anagrams
Cite this entry
rafter. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rafter
“rafter.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rafter. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rafter,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rafter.
Source: rafter on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.