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parapet

UK/ˈpæɹəpɪt/US/ˈpæɹəˌpɛt/
nounC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #12,910 of 15,258mostly written

Other forms: parapets

A parapet is a low wall along the edge of a roof or bridge. Lean on the parapet, over the parapet, a stone parapet.

Its job is to stop people and things falling, and building rules set its height. In fortification it was the wall soldiers fired over, which is where put your head above the parapet comes from — meaning to risk exposure by speaking out. Note that the Italian means to guard the breast.

Definitions of parapet

  1. 1nounparapetA low wall along the edge of a roof or bridge.C1

    “We leaned over the parapet of the bridge to watch the boats below.”

parapet is a low wall.

Where it comes from

Italian parapetto is parare, to guard, plus petto, the breast. Parasol and parachute are formed the same way.

  1. Italian

    parapetto

  2. Middle French

    parapet

  3. English, today

    parapet

From Middle French parapet, from Italian parapetto.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Buildings & Architecture

Practise this word

parapet in the wild

  • A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure.

    Parapet

  • The primary benefit of the design is to allow defenders to remain behind cover rather than being exposed when leaning over the parapet.

    Machicolation

  • The newly restored bridge no longer uses wires in the parapet, having been replaced with metal plates with spiderweb designs.

    Cobweb Bridge

  • A more permanent structure, normally in stone, would be described as a parapet or the battlement of a castle wall.

    Breastwork (fortification)

  • A stepped parapet may appear on building facades with or without gable ends, and even upon a false front.

    Stepped gable

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

From Project Gutenberg, public domain. These sentences are from real books, shown to illustrate the word at work.