Part 396

Roof (?), n. [OE. rof, AS. hr&?;f top, roof; akin to D. roef cabin, Icel. hr&?;f a shed under which ships are built or kept; cf. OS. hr&?;st roof, Goth. hr&?;t. Cf. Roost.] 1. (Arch.) The cover of any building, including the roofing (see Roofing) and all the materials and construction necessary to carry and maintain the same upon the walls or other uprights. In the case of a building with vaulted ceilings protected by an outer roof, some writers call the vault the roof, and the outer protection the roof mask. It is better, however, to consider the vault as the ceiling only, in cases where it has farther covering.

2. That which resembles, or corresponds to, the covering or the ceiling of a house; as, the roof of a cavern; the roof of the mouth.

The flowery roof Showered roses, which the morn repaired.

Milton.

3. (Mining.) The surface or bed of rock immediately overlying a bed of coal or a flat vein.

Bell roof, French roof, etc. (Arch.) See under Bell, French, etc. -- Flat roof. (Arch.) (a) A roof actually horizontal and level, as in some Oriental buildings. (b) A roof nearly horizontal, constructed of such material as allows the water to run off freely from a very slight inclination. -- Roof plate. (Arch.) See Plate, n., 10.

Roof (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Roofed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Roofing.] 1. To cover with a roof.

I have not seen the remains of any Roman buildings that have not been roofed with vaults or arches.

Addison.

2. To inclose in a house; figuratively, to shelter.

Here had we now our country's honor roofed.

Shak.

Roof"er (?), n. One who puts on roofs.

Roof"ing, n. 1. The act of covering with a roof.

2. The materials of which a roof is composed; materials for a roof. Gwilt.

3. Hence, the roof itself; figuratively, shelter. "Fit roofing gave." Southey.

4. (Mining) The wedging, as of a horse or car, against the top of an underground passage. Raymond.

Roof"less, a. 1. Having no roof; as, a roofless house.

2. Having no house or home; shelterless; homeless.

Roof"let (?), n. A small roof, covering, or shelter.

Roof"tree` (?), n. The beam in the angle of a roof; hence, the roof itself.

Now for me the woods may wither, now for me the rooftree fall.

Tennyson.

Roof`y (?), a. Having roofs. [R.] Dryden.

Rook (rk), n. Mist; fog. See Roke. [Obs.]

Rook, v. i. To squat; to ruck. [Obs.] Shak.

Rook, n. [F. roc (cf. Sp. roque), fr. Per. & Ar. rokh, or rukh, the rook or castle at chess, also the bird roc (in this sense perhaps a different word); cf. Hind. rath a war chariot, the castle at chess, Skr. ratha a car, a war car. Cf. Roll.] (Chess) One of the four pieces placed on the corner squares of the board; a castle.

Rook, n. [AS. hrc; akin to OHG. hruoh, ruoh, ruoho, Icel. hrkr, Sw. roka, Dan. raage; cf. Goth. hrukjan to crow.] 1. (Zoöl.) A European bird (Corvus frugilegus) resembling the crow, but smaller. It is black, with purple and violet reflections. The base of the beak and the region around it are covered with a rough, scabrous skin, which in old birds is whitish. It is gregarious in its habits. The name is also applied to related Asiatic species.