Eaves
EAVES (not a plural form as is sometimes supposed, but singular; O. Eng. efes, in Mid. High Ger. obse, Gothic ubizwa, a porch; connected with "over"), in architecture, the projecting edge of a sloping roof, which overhangs the face of the wall so as to throw off the water.
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
