Louver

//ˈluːvɚ// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A type of turret on the roof of certain medieval buildings designed to allow ventilation or the admission of light.

    "But darknesse dred and daily night did hover / Through all the inner parts, wherein they dwelt; / Ne lightned was with window, nor with lover, / But with continuall candle-light […]."

  2. 2
    one of a set of parallel slats in a door or window to admit air and reject rain wordnet
  3. 3
    A series of sloping overlapping slats or boards which admit air and light but exclude rain etc. in-plural
  4. 4
    Any of a system of slits, as in the hood of an automobile, for ventilation.

Example

More examples

"But darknesse dred and daily night did hover / Through all the inner parts, wherein they dwelt; / Ne lightned was with window, nor with lover, / But with continuall candle-light […]."

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English lover, from Old French lovier, lover (“skylight”), from Medieval Latin *lōdārium (attested as lōvārium), extension of lōdium, of unclear origin, but probably of Germanic origin and related to Frankish *laubijā (“shelter”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.