eaves
nounUK /iːvz/ · US /ivz/
Etymology PIE word *upér From Middle English eves (“projecting lower edge of a roof”) [and other forms], from Old English efes, yfes, *ofes (“edge of a roof”), from Proto-West Germanic *ubisu (“hall”), from Proto-Germanic *ubiswō (compare Gothic 𐌿𐌱𐌹𐌶𐍅𐌰 (ubizwa), Old High German obasa (“hall; porch; roof”)), perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *upér (“above; over”) (whence over).
1
Architecture The underside of a roof that extends beyond the external walls of a building.
- Him that you term'd Sir, the good old Lord Gonzallo, / His teares runs downe his beard like winters drops / From eaues of reeds: […]1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i], page 16, column 2:
- Thus night oft ſee me in thy pale career, / Till civil-ſuited morn appeer, / […] / Or uſher'd with a ſhower ſtill, / When the guſt hath blown his fill, / Ending on the ruſsling Leaves, / With minute drops from off the Eaves.a. 1645, John Milton, “Il Penseroso”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], published 1646, →OCLC, page 42:
2 more examples
- By my window bowered round with leaves, / And down my cheeks the quick tears ran / Like twinkling rain-drops from the eaves, / When warm spring showers are passing o'er: […]1818 August, Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Rosalind and Helen”, in Rosalind and Helen, a Modern Eclogue; with Other Poems, London: […] [C. H. Reynell] for C[harles] and J[ames] Ollier, […], published 1819, →OCLC, page 22:
- Enclose open eaves with noncombustible soffit material.2024 November 10, Alaa Elassar, “As California wildfires become more frequent, people will need to fireproof their homes. Here’s what it takes to do it”, in CNN, archived from the original on 14 Dec 2024:
2
Broadly Something that extends over or projects beyond.
- But after many strains and heaves / He got up to the Saddle eaves.1662 (indicated as 1663), [Samuel Butler], “[The First Part of Hudibras]. Canto I.”, in Hudibras. The First and Second Parts. […], London: […] John Martyn and Henry Herringman, […], published 1678; republished in A[lfred] R[ayney] Waller, editor, Hudibras: Written in the Time of the Late Wars, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: University Press, 1905, →OCLC, page 14:
- The mystic glory swims away; / From off my bed the moonlight dies; / And closing eaves of wearied eyes / I sleep till dusk is dipt in gray: […]1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto LXV”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 92:
- Related terms
- eaved, eavesdrip, eavesdrop, eavesdropper, eavesdropping, eavesdroppingly, eavesread, eavestrough, flying eaves, Woodhouse Eaves