ˈroofing, (vbl.) n.
[f. roof n. or v. + -ing1.]
1. a. The act of covering with a roof; material used or suitable for roofs; that which forms a roof or roofs.
| c 1440 Pallad. on Husb. i. 383 (Bodl. MS.), And lete hem drie er..rovyng [be] sette uppon, lest all be shent. 1598 Stow Surv. 180 Hee..gaue all the timber for the rooffing of the two side Iles. 1611 Coryat Crudities 163 Whiche forme of roofing is generally vsed in all those Italian cities that I saw. 1655 Fuller Waltham Abbey 19 Lead, Stone, and Timber, all devoured in the roofing, flooring, and finishing of their Steeple. 1725 Fam. Dict. s.v. Thatching, A thousand handfuls of Reed..will..cover about three square of Roofing. 1760–72 H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) III. 112 The hovel was of mud-walls, without any roofing. 1828–43 Tytler Hist. Scot. (1864) I. 137 A huge machine was constructed, covered by a strong roofing of boards and hides. 1846 M{supc}Culloch Acc. Brit. Empire (1854) I. 165 Thick and heavy slates..are used for building as well as for roofing. 1876 M. E. Braddon J. Haggard's Dau. III. 166 Arnold went up to an old farmhouse..to settle a question of roofing and thatching. |
| transf. 1883 Gresley Gloss. Coal-mining 206 Roofing, the upper 5 or 6 feet of the rock-salt beds. |
b. attrib. roofing felt,
roofing material,
roofing slate,
roofing tile, etc.
| 1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art I. 191 In Holland, they frequently glaze their roofing tiles. 1833 Penny Cycl. I. 406/1 It is as hard as roofing slate. 1846 Keightley Notes Virg. 375 It is of good size, for roofing-timber..is cut out of it. 1862 Catal. Internat. Exhib., Brit. II. No. 6029 Galvanized corrugated iron roofing sheets. 1886 C. Scott Sheep-Farming 98 There are now so many light roofing materials,—such as the Willesden roofing paper. 1894 Country Gentlemen's Catal. 269 Roofing felt.—The best known weather-resisting material yet introduced for roofing purposes. 1929 Morning Post 2 Oct. 6/5 These industries include electrical engineering, paint and varnish making, roofing-felts,..and the manufacture of linoleum. 1954 Paper Terminol. (Spalding & Hodge, Ltd.) 51 Roofing felt, a very porous, soft and thick paper made from low-grade materials and used as a base for impregnation with bitumen, tar, etc. |
c. attrib. in other uses.
| 1867 Chambers's Encycl. IX. 439/1 The various kinds [of tiles] used for roofing purposes. 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 1973/2 Roofing-machine, one for preparing material for roofing purposes. 1896 Daily News 3 Aug. 3/5 Bridge and roofing firms have been busy. |
2. Mining. (See
quots.)
| 1747 Hooson Miner's Dict. R iij, Roofing is rising upwards in the Work, be it either directly or by degrees. 1860 Eng. & For. Mining Gloss. (ed. 2) 78 Roofing, when the top of the loaded skip wedges against the top of the gate-road. |