awning

Definition

A rooflike cover, usually of canvas, extended over or before any place as a shelter from the sun, rain, or wind.

Etymology

1615-25 (nautical sense only); from *awn + -ing, reduction of Middle French auvans (“sloping roof”), from Old French anvant (1180), from Gaulish *an(de)bannā (“eaves”) (compare Occitan ambans (“parapet”)), form of *ande- (intensive prefix) (compare Welsh an-, Old Irish ind-) + *bandā (“horn; peak”) (compare Welsh ban, Irish beann).

Example Sentences

• "At Nairobi the mail waits an hour-and-a-half. The station has three long platforms, mostly covered in awnings, the island connected with the main platform (which is used by the mails in both directions) by a subway."
• "But instead, the distinctive ironwork and glass platform awnings have been carefully refurbished, while making them compatible with the overhead wiring. Kettering's island Platform 2/3 is especially noteworthy. Although it dates from 1879, when the station was enlarged to four platforms, the same original (1857) patterns for the delicate cast-ironwork seem to have been used - […]."

Related Words