penthouse

[pent-hous]

noun

plural

penthouses 

1. an apartment or dwelling on the roof of a building, usually set back from the outer walls.

2. any specially designed apartment on an upper floor, especially the top floor, of a building.

3. a structure on a roof for housing elevator machinery, a water tank, etc.

4. Also called pentice. Also called pent. a shed with a sloping roof, or a sloping roof, projecting from a wall or the side of a building, as to shelter a door.

5. any rooflike shelter or overhanging part.

6. shed roof.

7. Court Tennis.,  a corridor having a slanted roof and projecting from three walls of the court.

penthouse

/ ˈpɛntˌhaʊs /

noun

1. a flat or maisonette built onto the top floor or roof of a block of flats

2. a construction on the roof of a building, esp one used to house machinery

3. a shed built against a building, esp one that has a sloping roof

4. real tennis the roofed corridor that runs along three sides of the court

Other Word Forms

• penthouselike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of penthouse¹

First recorded in 1520–30; alteration (by folk etymology) of Middle English pentis, from Old French apentiz, equivalent to apent, past participle of apendre “to hang against” + -iz ( French -is ), from unattested Vulgar Latin -ātīcium, noun use of neuter of unattested -ātīcius, equivalent to Latin -āt(us) past participle suffix + -īcius adjective suffix; appendant, -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of penthouse¹

C14 pentis (later penthouse, by folk etymology), from Old French apentis, from Late Latin appendicium appendage, from Latin appendere to hang from; see _appendix

Example Sentences

He owned an apartment building in Sherman Oaks and lived in his “penthouse,” which consisted of entering a screen door that was never locked and seeing a small room on the top floor.

From Los Angeles Times

He was previously a general manager at 375 Kensington High Street - a luxury residential estate in west London with apartments and penthouses.

From BBC

Since then, it has escalated into a row alleging leaky roofs, botched refurbishments and claims that a noisy lift was "maliciously" run at night to disturb the penthouse owner's sleep.

From BBC

For remote workers earning in dollars, the appeal is clear: For the cost of a $2,500 one-bedroom in Los Angeles or New York, a person can rent a penthouse here.

From Los Angeles Times

We went on her cruise in April last year with Michael McDonald and we got a penthouse suite, and she was not far from us and our butler got her autograph.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• co-op 
• condo 
• condominium 
• cooperative 
• flat 
• suite