soffit

English

WOTD – 13 February 2010
The soffit of a house.

Etymology

From French soffite, from Italian soffitto, from Vulgar Latin *suffīctus, perfect passive participle of Latin suffīgō (“to fasten or fix onto”).

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈsɒf.ɪt/
  • (US, Canada) IPA(key): /ˈsɑ.fɪt/
  • Audio (Australia):(file)
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɒfɪt

Noun

soffit (plural soffits)

  1. (architecture) The visible underside of an arch, balcony, beam, cornice, staircase, vault or any other architectural element.
    • 1954 January, “Strengthening of Coquet Viaduct”, in Railway Magazine, page 18:
      From 1945 onwards, deterioration in the condition of the brickwork in the arch soffits was kept under close observation, and in 1951 it was decided that strengthening must be undertaken.
    • 1983, Monte Burch, Building Small Barns, Sheds & Shelters, page 110:
      If the soffit is to be sloping, simply attach the soffit board(s) to the underside of the rafters, butting the edges tight against the fascia board in front and the barn siding in the back.
    • 2014 September 11, Jeff Howell, “Home improvements: The dangers of abestos roofs [print version: Where can I find help – at the double?, 6 September 2014, p. P13]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Property)‎[1]:
      A soffit is the underside of any part of a building's structure. Most people know about the soffit boards below their fascia boards (which cap off the ends of a roof's rafters). But if you walk through a brick-built tunnel and glance upwards, for example, you will be looking at the soffit of the arch.
    • 2021 July 2, Eliott C. McLaughlin, Alta Spells, Francesca Giuliani-Hoffman, “Firm held off on repairs because of stability issues in months before Surfside building collapse”, in CNN‎[2], Atlanta, Ga.: Warner Bros. Discovery, archived from the original on 22 November 2021:
      We removed loose, cracked, spalled, deteriorated and delaminated concrete from the balcony soffits of 114 units as well as pool corbels to prevent it from falling, and removed all deteriorated, debonded and falling stucco from balconies.
    • 2024 November 10, Alaa Elassar, “As California wildfires become more frequent, people will need to fireproof their homes. Here’s what it takes to do it”, in CNN‎[3], Atlanta, Ga.: Warner Bros. Discovery, archived from the original on 14 December 2024:
      Enclose open eaves with noncombustible soffit material.
  2. (pipe technology) The top point of the inside open section of a pipe or box conduit.
    The elevation of the pipe soffit is 10.4 meters above mean sea level.
    The vents on the bottom of the soffit should be open, and the vents on the side of the soffit should be closed.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

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