Eaves - wikipedia Eaves For other uses, see Eaves ( disambiguation ). Typical eaves overhang, shown here with a fascia board and gutter Italianate eaves with decorative support brackets The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building. The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls and may be highly decorated as part of an architectural style ; such as the Chinese dougong bracket systems. Contents 1 Etymology and usage 2 Function 3 Design 4 See also 5 References 6 External links Etymology and usage Eaves is derived from Old English efes meaning edge. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, eaves is both the singular and plural form of the word. However, the Merriam - Webster website lists the word as eave and states that it is `` usually used in plural ''. The word was used before the 12th century in the form efes ( Old English ). Function The primary function of the eaves is to keep rain water off the walls and to prevent the ingress of water at the junction where the roof meets the wall. The eaves may also protect a pathway around the building from the rain, prevent erosion of the footings, and reduce splatter on the wall from rain as it hits the ground. The secondary function is to control solar penetration as a form of passive solar building design ; the eaves overhang can be designed to adjust the building 's solar gain to suit the local climate, the latitude and orientation of the building. The eaves overhang may also shelter openings to ventilate the roof space. Design Aesthetic, traditional or purely decorative considerations may prevail over the strictly functional requirements of the eaves. The Arts and Crafts Movement influenced the American Craftsman tradition, which has very wide eaves with decorative brackets, for which there is not necessarily a real functional need ; likewise the Italian style eaves, shown above. The eaves may terminate in a fascia, a board running the length of the eaves under the tiles or roof sheets to cap off and protect the exposed rafter ends and to provide grounds on which to fix gutters. At the gables the eaves may extend beyond the gable end wall by projecting the purlins and are usually capped off by bargeboards to protect the wall and the purlin ends. The underside of the eaves may be filled with a horizontal soffit fixed at right angles to the wall, the soffit may be decorative but it also has the function of sealing the gap between the rafters from vermin and weather. Eaves must be designed for local wind speeds as the overhang can significantly increase the wind loading on the roof. The line on the ground under the outer edge of the eaves is the eavesdrip, or dripline, and in typical building planning regulations defines the extent of the building and can not oversail the property boundary. See also Chhajja Eavesdrip Eavesdropping Gargoyle Lookout ( architecture ) Rainhead Soffit References ^ Jump up to : Chisholm, Hugh ( 1911 ). Encyclopædia Britannica ( Eleventh ed. ). p. 840. Archived from the original on 2010 - 03 - 17. in architecture, the projecting edge of a sloping roof, which overhangs the face of the wall so as to throw off the water. Jump up ^ Eaves. def. 1a. Oxford English Dictionary Second Edition on CD - ROM ( v. 4.0 ) © Oxford University Press 2009 Jump up ^ `` Eave ''. Merriam - Webster Online. Merriam - Webster. Retrieved 20 June 2014. Jump up ^ External moisture -- a guide to using the risk matrix ( PDF ). Department of Building and Housing New Zealand. 2005. p. 8. Jump up ^ `` HOME CLINIC ; Making Eaves Inspection a Routine ''. The New York Times. 26 November 2000. Retrieved 17 May 2011. Jump up ^ `` Certain Home Shapes And Roofs Hold Up Best In Hurricane Says NJIT Professor ''. AZoBuild. 20 June 2007. Retrieved 17 May 2011. External links Media related to Eaves at Wikimedia Commons Roofs Roof shapes Barrel roof Bochka roof Bow roof Butterfly roof Clerestory roof Conical roof Flat roof Gable roof Gablet roof Gambrel roof Half - hipped roof Hipped roof Onion dome Mansard roof Pavilion roof Rhombic roof Ridged roof Saddle roof Sawtooth roof Shed roof Spire Welsh spire Roof elements Attic Catslide Collar beam Dormer Eaves Flashing Gable Gutter Hanging beam Joist Loft Purlin Rafter Roof batten Roof ridge Roof sheeting Roof terrace Roof tiles Roof truss Roof window Skylight Wind brace Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eaves&oldid=770690430 '' Categories : Architectural elements Roofs Hidden categories : Articles containing Old English - language text Use dmy dates from March 2017 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Català Čeština Deutsch Eesti Español Euskara Gàidhlig 한국어 हिन्दी Hornjoserbsce Italiano 日本 語 Polski Português Српски / srpski Suomi Svenska Türkçe Українська 粵語 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 17 March 2017, at 00 : 05. About Wikipedia

Question: the overhanging edges of a roof is called
Answer: eaves