penthouse Hear it!

penthouse definition

pent·house (pentho̵us′)

noun

  1. a small structure, esp. one with a sloping roof, attached to a larger building
  2. a sloping roof, or, sometimes, an awning, etc. extending out from a wall or building
    1. an apartment or other houselike structure built on the roof of a building
    2. a luxury apartment on an upper floor, esp. the top floor of a building

Etymology: altered (infl. by house) < pentice < ME pentis, penthouse < MFr apentis < ML appenticium < LL appendicium, lit., an appendage < L appendere: see append

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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