ceiling

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   The inside surface at the top of a room.

   They painted the ceiling white to make the room feel brighter.

2. 2
   noun

   An upper limit set on something such as a price or amount.

   The government put a ceiling on rent increases.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Ceiling was originally an action noun formed from ceil, meaning “to line the inside of a room with plaster or panelling.” Ceil may derive from Latin celare, “to conceal”; the sense “upper interior surface of a room” dates from the mid-16th century.

From Middle English celing (“paneling; (bed) cover or hanging”), from celen (“to cover or panel walls”) (from Old French celer (“to conceal”)) + -ing (gerund-forming suffix). By surface analysis, ceil + -ing.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary