loft

views updated May 14 2018

loft / lôft; läft/ • n. 1. a room or space directly under the roof of a house or other building, which may be used for accommodations or storage. ∎  a room or space over a stable or barn, used esp. for storing hay and straw: the stable loft. ∎  a gallery in a church or hall: a choir loft. ∎ short for organ loft. ∎  a large, open area over a shop, warehouse, or factory, sometimes converted into living space. ∎  a pigeon house.2. Golf upward inclination given to the ball in a stroke. ∎  backward slope of the head of a club, designed to give upward inclination to the ball.3. the thickness of cloth or insulating matter in an object such as a sleeping bag or a padded coat.• v. [tr.] kick, hit, or throw (a ball or missile) high up: he lofted the ball over the infield. ∎  (lofted) give backward slope to the head of (a golf club): a lofted metal club.ORIGIN: late Old English, from Old Norse lopt ‘air, sky, upper room,’ of Germanic origin; related to Dutch lucht and German Luft.

loft

views updated Jun 27 2018

loft.
1. Formerly, any upper floor, but now the volume contained by the pitched roof of a building and the supports for the ceiling of the topmost floor bounded by the walls. Essentially a garret, but used for storage, without any finishes.

2. Elevated platform, staging, or gallery within a larger room or hall, such as an excubitorium or watching-loft (e.g. the example in St Alban's Abbey, Herts.), Rood-loft, or organ-loft in a church.

loft

views updated May 18 2018

loft †air, sky OE.; upper chamber, attic XIII; gallery, etc. XVI. Late OE. loft — ON. lopt air, upper room, balcony, rel. to LIFT.
Hence lofty XVI.

LOFT

views updated May 29 2018

LOFT (lɒft) low-frequency radio telescope

Loft

views updated Jun 11 2018

Loft

a flock of pigeons, 1899.