the.com/rafter
the diagonal backbone that holds the sky out and the roof up.
means A sloping beam, usually one of a parallel set, that runs from the ridge of a roof down to the wall and supports the roof covering.
from From Old English 'ræfter,' a roof-beam, related to Old Norse 'raptr' and ultimately to a Germanic root meaning a beam or rafter. It shares deep ancestry with the word 'raft' — both go back to the idea of joined timbers, the same logs that float a raft on water reimagined as the angled bones bracing a roof against the sky.
- flock name
- A group of wild turkeys is called a rafter.
- ancient tech
- Predates nails, joined with carved wooden joints.
- birth of attic
- Rafters create the triangular space we now hoard junk in.
- ridge to wall
- Each leans on the ridge beam, fighting gravity sideways.
- the cheap seats
- To sit 'in the rafters' means the worst, highest seats.
for instance
wooden roof beams — structural timbers in buildings like westminster abbey, some dating back to the 1200s