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Origin and history of penthouse

penthouse(n.)

c. 1300, pentis, pendize, "a shed or sloping roof projecting from a main wall or the side or end of a building," from Anglo-French pentiz, a shortening of Old French apentis "attached building, appendage," from Medieval Latin appendicium, from Latin appendere "to hang" (see append).

The modern spelling is from c. 1530 by folk etymology influence of French pente "slope," and English house (the meaning at that time was "attached building with a sloping roof or awning"). Originally a simple structure (Middle English homilies describe the stable where Jesus was born as a "penthouse"); meaning "apartment or small house built on the roof of a skyscraper" is attested by 1921, from which time dates its association with luxury.

also from c. 1300

Entries linking to penthouse

append(v.)

late 14c., appenden, "to belong to as a possession or right," from Old French apendre (13c.) "belong, be dependent (on); attach (oneself) to; hang, hang up," and directly from Latin appendere "cause to hang (from something); weigh out," from ad "to" (see ad-) + pendere "to hang, cause to hang; weight; pay" (from PIE root *(s)pen- "to draw, stretch, spin").

The meaning "to hang on, attach as a pendant" is by 1640s; that of "attach as an appendix" is recorded by 1843. OED says the original word was obsolete by c. 1500, and these later transitive senses thus represent a reborrowing from Latin or French. Related: Appended; appending.

lean-to(n.)

"building whose rafters lean against another building or wall," mid-15c., from lean (v.) + to (adv.). Compare penthouse. "An addition made to a house behind, or at the end of it, chiefly for domestic offices, of one story or more, lower than the main building, and the roof of it leaning against the wall of the house" [Bartlett].

*(s)pen-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to draw, stretch, spin."

It might form all or part of: append; appendix; avoirdupois; compendium; compensate; compensation; counterpoise; depend; dispense; equipoise; expend; expense; expensive; hydroponics; impend; painter (n.2) "rope or chain that holds an anchor to a ship's side;" pansy; penchant; pend; pendant; pendentive; pending; pendular; pendulous; pendulum; pension; pensive; penthouse; perpendicular; peso; poise; ponder; ponderous; pound (n.1) "measure of weight;" prepend; prepense; preponderate; propensity; recompense; span (n.1) "distance between two objects;" span (n.2) "two animals driven together;" spangle; spanner; spend; spider; spin; spindle; spinner; spinster; stipend; suspend; suspension.

It might also be the source of: Latin pendere "to hang, to cause to hang," pondus "weight" (perhaps the notion is the weight of a thing measured by how much it stretches a cord), pensare "to weigh, consider;" Greek ponos "toil," ponein "to toil;" Lithuanian spendžiu, spęsti "lay a snare;" Old Church Slavonic peti "stretch, strain," pato "fetter," pina "I span;" Old English spinnan "to spin," spannan "to join, fasten; stretch, span;" Armenian henum "I weave;" Greek patos "garment," literally "that which is spun;" Lithuanian pinu "I plait, braid," spandau "I spin;" Middle Welsh cy-ffiniden "spider;" Old English spinnan "draw out and twist fibers into thread," spiðra "spider," literally "spinner."

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    roof
    rhoof "roof," Middle Dutch roof, rouf "cover, roof," Dutch roef "deckhouse, cabin, coffin-lid," Middle High German rof "penthouse...
    apartment
    1640s, "private rooms for the use of one person or family within a house," from French appartement (16c.), from Italian appartimento, literally "a separated place," from appartere "to separate," from a "to" (see ad-) + parte "side, place," from Latin partem (nominative pars) "a p
    flat
    c. 1300, "stretched out (on a surface), prostrate, lying the whole length on the ground;" mid-14c., "level, all in one plane; even, smooth;" of a roof, "low-pitched," from Old Norse flatr "flat," from Proto-Germanic *flata- (source also of Old Saxon flat "flat, shallow," Old High
    house
    Old English hus "dwelling, shelter, building designed to be used as a residence," from Proto-Germanic *hūsan (source also of Old Norse, Old Frisian hus, Dutch huis, German Haus), of unknown origin, perhaps connected to the root of hide (v.) [OED]. In Gothic only in gudhus "temple
    preposition
    late 14c., preposicioun, in grammar, "indeclinable part of speech regularly placed before and governing a noun in an oblique case and showing its relation to a verb, adjective, or other noun," from Latin praepositionem (nominative praepositio) "a putting before, a prefixing," nou
    scorn
    late 12c., scorn, skarn, "feeling or attitude of contempt; contemptuous treatment, mocking abuse," a shortening of Old French escarn "mockery, derision, contempt," a common Romanic word (Spanish escarnio, Italian scherno) of Germanic origin (source also of Old High German skern "
    proud
    late Old English prud, prute "excellent, splendid; arrogant, haughty, having or cherishing a high opinion of one's own merits; guilty of the sin of Pride," from Old French prud, oblique case of adjective prouz "brave, valiant" (11c., Modern French preux; compare prud'homme "brave
    sepulchre
    also sepulcher, c. 1200, sepulcre, "tomb, burial place," especially the cave where Jesus was buried outside Jerusalem (Holy Sepulcher or Saint Sepulcher), from Old French sepulcre, sepulchre, "tomb; the Holy Sepulchre" (11c.), from Latin sepulcrum (also, erroneously, sepulchrum)
    integrate
    1630s, "to render (something) whole, bring together the parts of," from Latin integratus, past participle of integrare "make whole," from integer "whole, complete," figuratively, "untainted, upright," literally "untouched," from in- "not" (see in- (1)) + root of tangere "to touch
    sequester
    late 14c., sequestren, transitive, "remove (something), set aside; quarantine, isolate (someone); excommunicate;" also intransitive, "separate oneself from," from Old French sequestrer (14c.) and directly from Late Latin sequestrare "to place in safekeeping," from Latin sequester

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