Afrikaans plafon | ||
Albanian tavan | ||
Amharic ጣሪያ | ||
Arabic سقف | ||
Armenian առաստաղ | ||
Assamese চিলিং | ||
Aymara utapatxa | ||
Azerbaijani tavan | ||
Bambara pilafɔn | ||
Basque sabaia | ||
Belarusian столь | ||
Bengali সিলিং | ||
Bhojpuri छत | ||
Bosnian plafon | ||
Bulgarian таван | ||
Catalan sostre | ||
Cebuano kisame | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 天花板 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 天花板 | ||
Corsican tettu | ||
Croatian strop | ||
Czech strop | ||
Danish loft | ||
Dhivehi ސީލިންގް | ||
Dogri छत्त | ||
Dutch plafond | ||
English ceiling | ||
Esperanto plafono | ||
Estonian lagi | ||
Ewe agbakɛ | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) kisame | ||
Finnish katto | ||
French plafond | ||
Frisian plafond | ||
Galician teito | ||
Georgian ჭერი | ||
German decke | ||
Greek οροφή | ||
Guarani ogahoja | ||
Gujarati છત | ||
Haitian Creole plafon | ||
Hausa rufi | ||
Hawaiian kaupaku | ||
Hebrew תִקרָה | ||
Hindi अधिकतम सीमा | ||
Hmong qab nthab | ||
Hungarian mennyezet | ||
Icelandic loft | ||
Igbo uko ụlọ | ||
Ilocano bobida | ||
Indonesian plafon | ||
Irish uasteorainn | ||
Italian soffitto | ||
Japanese 天井 | ||
Javanese langit-langit | ||
Kannada ಸೀಲಿಂಗ್ | ||
Kazakh төбе | ||
Khmer ពិដាន | ||
Kinyarwanda igisenge | ||
Konkani सिलींग | ||
Korean 천장 | ||
Krio silin | ||
Kurdish lihêf | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) بنمیچ | ||
Kyrgyz шып | ||
Lao ເພດານ | ||
Latin laquearia | ||
Latvian griestiem | ||
Lingala plafond | ||
Lithuanian lubos | ||
Luganda akasolya | ||
Luxembourgish plafong | ||
Macedonian таванот | ||
Maithili छत | ||
Malagasy valindrihana | ||
Malay siling | ||
Malayalam പരിധി | ||
Maltese saqaf | ||
Maori tuanui | ||
Marathi कमाल मर्यादा | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯌꯨꯝꯊꯛ | ||
Mizo inchung | ||
Mongolian тааз | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) မျက်နှာကျက် | ||
Nepali छत | ||
Norwegian tak | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) kudenga | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଛାତ | ||
Oromo baaxii | ||
Pashto چت | ||
Persian سقف | ||
Polish sufit | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) teto | ||
Punjabi ਛੱਤ | ||
Quechua qata | ||
Romanian tavan | ||
Russian потолок | ||
Samoan taualuga | ||
Sanskrit छादम् | ||
Scots Gaelic mullach | ||
Sepedi siling | ||
Serbian плафон | ||
Sesotho siling | ||
Shona siringi | ||
Sindhi ڇت | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) සිවිලිම | ||
Slovak strop | ||
Slovenian strop | ||
Somali saqafka | ||
Spanish techo | ||
Sundanese lalangit | ||
Swahili dari | ||
Swedish tak | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) kisame | ||
Tajik шифт | ||
Tamil உச்சவரம்பு | ||
Tatar түшәм | ||
Telugu పైకప్పు | ||
Thai เพดาน | ||
Tigrinya ላዕለዋይ ጸፍሒ | ||
Tsonga silingi | ||
Turkish tavan | ||
Turkmen potolok | ||
Twi (Akan) siilin | ||
Ukrainian стеля | ||
Urdu چھت | ||
Uyghur تورۇس | ||
Uzbek ship | ||
Vietnamese trần nhà | ||
Welsh nenfwd | ||
Xhosa isilingi | ||
Yiddish סופיט | ||
Yoruba orule | ||
Zulu uphahla |
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The word "plafon" in Afrikaans comes from the French word "plafond" meaning "ceiling", but it can also be used to mean "a limit" or "a restriction". |
| Albanian | Tavan is an Albanian word meaning 'ceiling' and is also derived from the Persian word 'tāq' meaning 'vault' or 'arch'. |
| Amharic | The word "ጣሪያ" is also used to refer to the top of a building or a roof. |
| Arabic | The word 'سقف' is cognate with the Hebrew word 'סכך' (sukkah), a temporary hut or shelter. |
| Azerbaijani | "Tavan" means "ceiling" in Azerbaijani, but it can also mean "top", "upper part", or "roof". |
| Basque | The Basque word "sabaia" (ceiling) may also mean "sky" or "heaven" in other languages. |
| Belarusian | In Old Belarusian, столь (“ceiling”) originally came from the adjective “stole” (“large, mighty, proud”). |
| Bengali | The word "সিলিং" (ceiling) in Bengali is derived from the Sanskrit word "शिरा" (head) or "शीर्ष" (top), indicating the uppermost surface of a room. |
| Bosnian | "Plafon" is also slang for "limit" |
| Bulgarian | It is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "*tégmhó-," meaning "to cover, thatch." |
| Catalan | The word "sostre" in Catalan is derived from the Latin word "substratum", meaning "underneath". |
| Cebuano | Kisame can also refer to the floor of a house made of stilts. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | The literal meaning of '天花板' is 'roof' or 'sky ceiling'. Its original meaning was the roof of a house. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | The word “天花板” literally means “sky ceiling,” and was originally used to refer to the canopies over the beds of emperors and nobles. |
| Corsican | "Tettu" also means "roof" in Corsican. |
| Croatian | The Croatian word "strop" derives from the Proto-Slavic word "stropъ", meaning "roof" or "ceiling". |
| Czech | In Czech, "strop" can also refer to a "cover" or a "lid". |
| Danish | "Loft" is the Danish word for ceiling and comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *hleubh-, "to cover, roof over". |
| Dutch | Dutch "plafond" comes from the French word "plafond" meaning "flat surface" and is also used for "maximum amount" or "limit". |
| Esperanto | The Esperanto word “plafono” comes from a Greek word that also means “wandering” and “straying,” indicating a ceiling or roof that prevents wandering outdoors. |
| Estonian | The word "lagi" in Estonian can also refer to a sail or a banner. |
| Finnish | "Katto" is a loanword from Swedish "tak", which is cognate with German "Dach" (roof). |
| French | The word "plafond" in French derives from the Italian word "plagione", meaning "flat surface". |
| Frisian | In Frisian, "plafond" can also refer to the surface of a liquid or the sky. |
| Galician | Galician "teito" comes from Latin "tectum", meaning a building, which is related to the word "techo" in Spanish and Portuguese and "toit" in French, all meaning a "roof". |
| Georgian | The Georgian word "ჭერი" can also refer to the upper story of a building. |
| German | The word 'Decke' comes from the Old High German word 'decchi' which also meant a 'cover'. |
| Greek | The word οροφή was originally used to refer to the roof of a building and is connected to the word όρος, which means "mountain" or "boundary. |
| Gujarati | The word "છત" also means "roof" or "top" in Gujarati. |
| Haitian Creole | "Plafon" also means "sky" in Haitian Creole due to its French etymology. |
| Hausa | The word "rufi" can also refer to a canopy or a roof. |
| Hawaiian | "Kaupaku" also means "to shut out", in reference to its function as a ceiling. |
| Hebrew | The word “תקרה” also means “an event” or “an occurrence” in Hebrew. |
| Hindi | "अधिकतम सीमा" is used to denote an upper limit, while "अधिकतम सीमा" (with "ऋ") is a synonym for "maximum"} |
| Hmong | The Hmong word "qab nthab" combines the words "qab" (above) and "nthab" (board), providing a literal description of a ceiling as a "board above". |
| Hungarian | The word "mennyezet" also means "heaven" or "paradise" in Hungarian. |
| Icelandic | In Icelandic, "loft" not only means "ceiling" but also "air" or "sky". |
| Igbo | 'Uko ụlọ' may also refer to the roof or upstairs |
| Indonesian | From French 'plafond', meaning a low level (as of clouds or a ceiling), a limit or a restriction for flight. |
| Irish | While the first part of the word is uncertain, the suffix -rainn suggests "of the king". |
| Italian | In Italian architecture, a "soffitto" can also refer to a painted canvas attached to the ceiling, serving as a decorative element or a way to conceal structural elements. |
| Japanese | Originally meaning "sky" or "heaven," 天井 (tenjō) refers to the overhead space within a room as well as the material that covers it. |
| Javanese | "Langit-langit" also means "sky" in Javanese, as it is believed that the ceiling of a house is a reflection of the sky above and that the gods live in the sky. |
| Kannada | In Kannada, ಸೀಲಿಂಗ್ can also refer to a limit or upper bound. |
| Kazakh | "Төбе" (ceiling) stems from the Old Turkic word "tüb" (top) and means the highest point of something, including a person's head. |
| Khmer | "ពិដាន" is derived from Sanskrit word "vidhāna" which means "spread" or "expanded." |
| Korean | 천장 is also a Korean term for 'sky'. |
| Kurdish | The word "lihêf" in Kurdish may also refer to a bedsheet or quilt. |
| Kyrgyz | Шип is a Russian loanword, derived from the Proto-Slavic *šьpъ, which means "pole, rod, staff". |
| Lao | The word "ເພດານ" evolved from the Pali word "pattana" which means "to spread out or flatten" |
| Latin | The word "laquearia" originally meant "coffered ceiling" but was used more generally for all ceilings. |
| Latvian | Etymology unknown; the word is not present in Proto-Baltic or Proto-Indo-European, but may have Slavic roots. |
| Lithuanian | The Lithuanian word "lubos" not only means "ceiling", but also refers to the upper part of a stove, a hearth, or a roof. |
| Luxembourgish | The word "Plafong" is derived from the French word "plafond", which means "ceiling". It can also refer to the space between the ceiling and the roof. |
| Macedonian | The word "таванот" can also refer to the sky or firmament, a connection reflected in its Slavic cognates, such as the Russian "небо" and the Polish "niebo". |
| Malagasy | The word "valindrihana" is derived from the verb "indrihana", meaning "to be high", and the prefix "va-", indicating location. |
| Malay | The Malay word 'siling' also refers to a type of cloth or fabric used for curtains or upholstery. |
| Malayalam | The word "പരിധി" also means "extent", "limit", and "boundary" in Malayalam. |
| Maltese | The word 'saqaf' is derived from the Arabic word 'saqf', which means 'roof'. |
| Maori | "Tuanui" also means "great lord" and was thought to be an appropriate name for a ceiling since it held up the roof from above. |
| Marathi | The Marathi word for "ceiling," कमाल मर्यादा, literally means "wonderful limit," suggesting the sky as the ultimate boundary. |
| Mongolian | The word "тааз" can also refer to the upper part of a yurt or the top of a ger door. |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | The word literally translates to “face cover” and refers to the fact that it hides the beams and rafters of the roof from view. |
| Nepali | In Nepal, छत (chat) and छाना (chhana) are used interchangeably, likely due to their similar function of providing a cover or protection. |
| Norwegian | The word "tak" is derived from the Old Norse word "þak", which means "roof". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The Nyanja word "kudenga" is also used to refer to the act of covering or roofing something. |
| Pashto | The word "چت" also refers to a flat roof that is used as a living space in traditional Pashto architecture. |
| Persian | In Persian, سقف (pronounced 'saqf') is a noun that can also mean a roof, cover, or lid, and is derived from the Arabic word 'saqf' meaning 'roof' or 'ceiling'. |
| Polish | The word "sufit" comes from the Arabic word "saqaf", which means "roof" or "ceiling". |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | In Portuguese, "teto" can also mean "refuge" or "shelter". |
| Punjabi | In old Punjabi, the word 'ਛੱਤ' meant the roof as well as a hut. |
| Romanian | Related to the verb 'tavăli', meaning 'to roll', as the ceiling rolls (extends) over the room. |
| Russian | The word "потолок" can also refer to the maximum height or limit of something. |
| Samoan | The word “taualuga” can also refer to the roof of a house or the top of a tree. |
| Scots Gaelic | Scots Gaelic "mullach" (ceiling) shares its origin with words for "skull" and "summit" |
| Serbian | The word "плафон" in Serbian originates from the French word "plafond," which in turn derives from the Italian "pallonfone," likely meaning "large ball," possibly due to the concave or dome-shaped roofs that the word described. |
| Sesotho | "Siling" comes from Proto-Bantu "silu" meaning "roof, cover, coverlet". |
| Shona | The word "siringi" may also refer to the roof of a hut. |
| Sindhi | The word "ڇت" can also refer to the canopy of a tree, or a flat rooftop for sleeping during summer nights. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | "සිවිලිම" in Sinhala comes from the Sanskrit word "chhavila" meaning "roof", but can also mean "sky" or "heavenly body". |
| Slovak | In the Slovak dialect of Moravian Wallachia, the word "strop" can also refer to a loft or attic. |
| Slovenian | Slovenian "strop" can also mean "a sudden loud noise" or an "unexpected event" |
| Somali | The word "saqafka" is derived from Arabic and also means "roof". |
| Spanish | The word "techo" in Spanish comes from the Latin word "tectum", meaning "roof" or "covering". |
| Sundanese | "Lalangit" evolved from the Old Javanese word "langit" meaning "sky". |
| Swahili | Dari in Swahili can also mean 'floor' when used in the context of a multi-story building. |
| Swedish | In some dialects, "tak" also means roof. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | "Kisame" is an archaic term that can also refer to a canopy or a tent. |
| Tajik | "Shift" comes from Persian shift (شِفت, "night shift") and ultimately from Arabic saft (صَفْت, "row"), with an analogous evolution of meaning through "row of planks". |
| Tamil | In Tamil, the word "உச்சவரம்பு" ("ceiling") also refers to the "upper limit" or "maximum" in a context unrelated to architecture. |
| Telugu | The word "పైకప్పు" can also refer to the roof of a house or building. |
| Thai | The word "เพดาน" (ceiling) is derived from the Sanskrit word "pada" meaning "foot" or "position", likely referring to its position above the floor. |
| Turkish | The Turkish word tavan is related to the English and German words |
| Ukrainian | "Стеля" in Ukrainian is also a verb meaning "to lay something flat". |
| Urdu | The word 'چھت' is thought to be derived from the Sanskrit word 'छादन' ('covering'). |
| Uzbek | The Uzbek word "ship" is also used to refer to the deck of a ship or the roof of a house. |
| Vietnamese | The word "Trần nhà" also means "heaven" in the context of Buddhism. |
| Welsh | "Nenfwd" also refers to a person who is absent-minded or impractical. |
| Xhosa | The alternate meaning of 'i-silongo' is to make a secret plan against someone. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "סופיט" (sofit) is etymologically related to the Hebrew word "ספה" (sofa), both sharing a root meaning of "something elevated" or "a cover". |
| Yoruba | The word “orule” also means “secret” and is related to the word “orun” which means “heaven”. |
| Zulu | The word 'uphahla' may also refer to 'the roof of a house' or 'heaven' in Zulu. |
| English | From Middle English celynge, from Anglo-Norman seeling, from Old French ciel "canopy, heaven, sky," from Latin caelum "sky, heaven," from Proto-Indo-European *ḱḗi̯l- "to cover". |