ROOF

Definitions

1. 1. 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. 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. 3. 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.