Shout It From the Rooftops
A rooftop is the top surface of a roof. In cities it has become usable space, and in English it is where you announce things loudly.
A rooftop is the upper surface of a roof. The idiom is biblical in origin: proclaiming something *from the rooftops* means telling everyone, from the practice of announcing news from flat roofs where a whole neighbourhood could hear. Modern cities have rediscovered the space for bars, gardens and solar panels.
- The top of a roof. *A rooftop terrace.*
- Rooftop as a modifier. *A rooftop bar.*
- From the rooftops — publicly and loudly. *He told everyone from the rooftops.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | rooftop | A flat rooftop. |
| Plural | rooftops | Across the rooftops. |
| Related | roof | A tiled roof. |
| Related | terrace | A roof terrace. |
| Related | eaves | Under the eaves. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The view across the rooftops is worth the climb.Plural, of a townscape.
- They opened a rooftop garden above the car park.Urban design.
- She shouted it from the rooftops.Told everyone.
Roof vocabulary
- Ridge — the horizontal line at the top
- Eaves — the lower edge overhanging the wall
- Gable — the triangular wall under a pitched roof
- Green roof — one planted with vegetation
- Parapet — a low wall along the edge of a flat roof
A compound of *roof*, Old English *hrof*, and *top*. The proclaiming idiom comes from a passage in the Gospel of Luke about what is whispered being proclaimed on the housetops.
Where does *from the rooftops* come from?
From a biblical passage about proclaiming from the housetops, in a place and period where flat roofs were normal and public.
What is a green roof?
A roof covered with growing plants over a waterproof layer. It insulates, absorbs rainfall and cools the building.