RAFTER


Meaning of RAFTER in English

I. raf·ter ˈraftə(r), ˈraaf-, ˈraif-, ˈrȧf- noun

( -s )

Etymology: Middle English, from Old English ræfter; akin to Middle Low German rafter, rachter rafter, Old Norse raptr

1. : one of the often sloping beams that support a roof — compare hip rafter , jack rafter , valley rafter ; see roof illustration

2. or rafter bird : spotted flycatcher

II. rafter verb

( -ed/-ing/-s )

transitive verb

1. : to furnish (as a house) with rafters

2. dialect England : to plow so as to turn the grass side of each furrow upon an unplowed ridge : ridge 2a

intransitive verb

: to override and underrun one another — used of pieces of ice under pressure

III. raft·er noun

( -s )

Etymology: raft (III) + -er

: one who by walking on floating logs or booms or working from a boat maneuvers logs into position and binds them into rafts that can be towed to a mill — called also boom man, raffman, raftsman

IV. rafter noun

( -s )

Etymology: raft (IV) + -er

: flock — used especially of turkeys

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.