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Glite Dictionary
🧹 A collector 🏗️ A sloping support 🪴 A small tool
raker

raker

8.5
A sloping support beam that helps hold up a roof
  • noun
  • /ˈreɪkər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : viga inclinada
  • To ensure the roof could withstand heavy snow, they reinforced the rakers.

Examples

  • The workers installed new rakers to enhance the framework of the building.

  • The architect designed a roof supported by several rakers for better stability.

  • As a consequence, sport fishermen caught more fish near the rakers (n1).

    Academic text (1990)

Synonyms

rafter
vsraker
29 4.6

A sloping beam that supports a roof

is a broader sloping support that can be a beam or a brace
balk
vsraker
  • Archaic
9.9

A large wooden beam that helps support a roof

is the more general sloping support used across roof types not only timber

Surface Forms

raker singular
rakers plural

Morphology

raker = rake (opaque) = rake + er

Although the form is built from 'rake' + '-er', the architectural meaning is specialized and not recoverable from the common tool sense of 'rake'.

Etymology

Raker for a sloping roof part comes from the same word rake, which can mean 'slant' or 'slope'. Think of a beam leaning like the handle of a rake—a raker supports the roof at an angle, so the origin explains its shape and role.