louver

English

A louver.

Alternative forms

• loover (archaic)
• louvre (mainly UK)
• lover (obsolete)
• luffer

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English lover, from Old French lovier, lover (“skylight”), from Medieval Latin *lōdārium (attested as lōvārium), extension of lōdium, of unclear origin, but probably of Germanic origin and related to Frankish *laubijā (“shelter”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) enPR: lo͞oʹvə, IPA^(key): /ˈluːvə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) enPR: lo͞oʹvər, IPA^(key): /ˈluːvɚ/
• Rhymes: -uːvə(ɹ)

Noun

louver (plural louvers)

1. A type of turret on the roof of certain medieval buildings designed to allow ventilation or the admission of light. [from 14th c.]
   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book VI, Canto X”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

     But darknesse dred and daily night did hover / Through all the inner parts, wherein they dwelt; / Ne lightned was with window, nor with lover, / But with continuall candle-light […].

2. (chiefly in the plural) A series of sloping overlapping slats or boards which admit air and light but exclude rain etc. [from 16th c.]
3. Any of a system of slits, as in the hood of an automobile, for ventilation.

Derived terms

• louvered, louvred

Translations

a ventilating turret or lantern

• Arabic: ^{(please verify)} أباجور
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 天窗 (zh) (tiānchuāng)

• Danish: lamel (da) c, jalousi (da)
• Dutch: luifel (nl) m
• French: ^{(please verify)} persienne (fr) f
• German: ^{(please verify)} Luftschlitz m, Lüftungsgitter (de) n
• Irish: ^{(please verify)} lúvar m, ^{(please verify)} lata m
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} feritoia (it) f
• Japanese: ^{(please verify)} ルーバー (rūbā)
• Korean: ^{(please verify)} 루버 (rubeo)
• Middle English: lover
• Portuguese: lanternim m
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} lumbrera (es) f
• Turkish: hava deliği (tr), hava yarığı, panjur (tr)

a slatted opening in a wall, door or window

• Arabic: ^{(please verify)} أباجور
• Bulgarian: жалузи (bg) f pl (žaluzi)
• Catalan: persiana (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 天窗 (zh) (tiānchuāng)

• Danish: lamel (da) c, jalousi (da)
• Dutch: luifel (nl) m
• Finnish: säleikkö (fi)
• French: ^{(please verify)} persienne (fr) f
• German: ^{(please verify)} Luftschlitz m
• Irish: lúvar m, ^{(please verify)} lata m
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} feritoia (it) f
• Japanese: ^{(please verify)} ルーバー (rūbā)
• Korean: ^{(please verify)} 루버 (rubeo)
• Portuguese: persiana (pt) f, veneziana f
• Russian: жалюзи́ (ru) n pl (žaljuzí)
• Spanish: rejilla (es) f

a system of slits for ventilation

• Arabic: ^{(please verify)} أباجور
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 天窗 (zh) (tiānchuāng)

• Dutch: luifel (nl) m
• Finnish: säleikkö (fi)
• French: ^{(please verify)} persienne (fr) f
• German: ^{(please verify)} Luftschlitz m, Lüftungsschlitz (de) m
• Irish: ^{(please verify)} lúvar m, ^{(please verify)} lata m
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} feritoia (it) f
• Japanese: ^{(please verify)} ルーバー (rūbā)
• Korean: ^{(please verify)} 루버 (rubeo)
• Portuguese: grelha (pt) f
• Russian: жалюзи́ (ru) n pl (žaljuzí)
• Spanish: rejilla (es) f

See also

• jalousie

Anagrams

• Louvre, louvre, velour

French

Etymology

From louve +‎ -er, evidently related to louve (“she-wolf”), comparing the tight grip of tools to the jaws of a wolf.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lu.ve/

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

louver

1. (transitive) to drill a hole in a stone for the attachment of a wedge

Conjugation

Conjugation of louver (see also Appendix:French verbs)

infinitive	simple	louver
	compound	avoir + past participle
present participle or gerund1	simple	louvant /lu.vɑ̃/
	compound	ayant + past participle
past participle		louvé /lu.ve/
		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		je (j’)	tu	il, elle, on	nous	vous	ils, elles
(simple tenses)	present	louve /luv/	louves /luv/	louve /luv/	louvons /lu.vɔ̃/	louvez /lu.ve/	louvent /luv/
	imperfect	louvais /lu.vɛ/	louvais /lu.vɛ/	louvait /lu.vɛ/	louvions /lu.vjɔ̃/	louviez /lu.vje/	louvaient /lu.vɛ/
	past historic2	louvai /lu.ve/	louvas /lu.va/	louva /lu.va/	louvâmes /lu.vam/	louvâtes /lu.vat/	louvèrent /lu.vɛʁ/
	future	louverai /lu.vʁe/	louveras /lu.vʁa/	louvera /lu.vʁa/	louverons /lu.vʁɔ̃/	louverez /lu.vʁe/	louveront /lu.vʁɔ̃/
	conditional	louverais /lu.vʁɛ/	louverais /lu.vʁɛ/	louverait /lu.vʁɛ/	louverions /lu.və.ʁjɔ̃/	louveriez /lu.və.ʁje/	louveraient /lu.vʁɛ/
(compound tenses)	present perfect	present indicative of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle
	past anterior2	past historic of avoir + past participle
	future perfect	future of avoir + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional of avoir + past participle
subjunctive		que je (j’)	que tu	qu’il, qu’elle	que nous	que vous	qu’ils, qu’elles
(simple tenses)	present	louve /luv/	louves /luv/	louve /luv/	louvions /lu.vjɔ̃/	louviez /lu.vje/	louvent /luv/
	imperfect2	louvasse /lu.vas/	louvasses /lu.vas/	louvât /lu.va/	louvassions /lu.va.sjɔ̃/	louvassiez /lu.va.sje/	louvassent /lu.vas/
(compound tenses)	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect2	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nous	vous	–
simple		—	louve /luv/	—	louvons /lu.vɔ̃/	louvez /lu.ve/	—
compound		—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—
1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en.
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way: past historic → present perfect past anterior → pluperfect imperfect subjunctive → present subjunctive pluperfect subjunctive → past subjunctive (Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81).

Related terms

• louve

Further reading

• “louver”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.