English

roof

Roof comes from Old English hrōf ‘roof’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ḱrapo-.

Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱrapo-¹reconstructed
Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hrōfą¹reconstructed
Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hrōf¹reconstructed
Old Englishc. 450–1150hrōf¹‘roof’
Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rhof¹
Englishearliest quotation 1857roof¹

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

¹ Wiktionary, English roof
Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1857, Thomas Hughes: “Tom thought his cap a very knowing affair, but…”.

Lineage

Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱrapo-1Wiktionary, English roofreconstructed
Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hrōfą1Wiktionary, English roofreconstructed
Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hrōf1Wiktionary, English roofreconstructed
Old Englishc. 450–1150hrōf1Wiktionary, English roof‘roof’
Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rhof1Wiktionary, English roof
Englishearliest quotation 1857roof1Wiktionary, English roof. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1857, Thomas Hughes: “Tom thought his cap a very knowing affair, but…”

Explore everything descended from *ḱrapo- →

Another origin of roof

Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krāwə-‘to cover, heap’reconstructed
Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krāpo-reconstructed
Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hrōfąreconstructed
Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hrōfreconstructed
Old Englishc. 450–1150hrōf
Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rof‘the outside of a roof’
Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rofen‘to roof’
Englishtodayroof

No ads, ever. This is how the app stays alive.

Become a founding member, $29 once Wear this word, $32 Support the app

Today it means

noun The external covering at the top of a building.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “roof”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱrapo- / roof