roofstone

English

Etymology

From roof +‎ stone.

Pronunciation

  • enPR: ro͞of′stōn′, ro͝of-
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈɹuːfˌstəʊ̯n/, /ˈɹʊf-/
  • (General American, Canada) IPA(key): /ˈɹufˌstoʊ̯n/, /ˈɹʊf-/
  • (General Australian) IPA(key): /ˈɹʉːfˌstəʉ̯n/, /ˈɹʊf-/
  • (New Zealand) IPA(key): /ˈɹʉːfˌstɐʉ̯n/, /ˈɹʊf-/
  • (Scotland) IPA(key): /ˈɹʉfˌston/, /ˈɹʉf-/
  • (India) IPA(key): /ˈɾuːfˌsʈoːn/, /ˈɾʊf-/
  • Rhymes: -uːfstəʊn, -ʊfstəʊn
  • Hyphenation: roof‧stone

Noun

roofstone (plural roofstones)

  2. (geology, mining) The stone or rock layer immediately above a coal seam.
    • 1830, The Edinburgh Encyclopædia, volume 14, page 352:
      The intention of the props is for the security of the workmen to keep up the roofstone; they have no effect in resisting the crush of the super-incumbent strata.
  4. (archaeology) A large, usually flat stone slab placed atop the side-stones (orthostats) of a megalithic burial chamber—such as in portal tombs, wedge tombs, or gallery graves—to form a roof covering the interior space.

Further reading

  • “roofstone”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
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