Rafter

Rafter
This unusual surname recorded in the spellings of Rafter, Raftiss and Wrafter, is Irish. It seems to originate from the popular clan name of O'Raferty, as it seems that in the registers of County Mayo, the spellings are quite interchangeable upto this century. As few people before late Victorian times could do much more than write their name, and it probably did not greatly effect the small communities of those times. It seems that the name was never recorded as O' Rafter, which does perhaps suggest that the origin was not Gaelic but Norman, as the name is quite well recorded in England. However there are no satisfactory recordings proving the matter either way. The earliest known recording is probably that of Thomas Raghtor, a burgess of Kilkenny in 1518. In the census of Ireland in 1659 it is said that Rafter is one of the principle surnames of County Leix, whilst a James Rafter is listed as one of the principal citizens of Kilkenny. Finally in 1713, Ignatius Rafter given as being a "Catholic gentleman of Kilkenny City," had the extraordinary honour for those days, of being licenced to carry "a sword, a gun (?), and a case of pistols". He was literally a walking armoury, although as to why he needed all this protection, is unclear.

Surnames reference. 2013.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Rafter — Raft er (r[.a]ft [ e]r), n. A raftsman. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Rafter — Raft er, n. [AS. r[ae]fter; akin to E. raft, n. See {Raft}.] (Arch.) Originally, any rough and somewhat heavy piece of timber. Now, commonly, one of the timbers of a roof which are put on sloping, according to the inclination of the roof. See… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Rafter — Raft er, v. t. 1. To make into rafters, as timber. [1913 Webster] 2. To furnish with rafters, as a house. [1913 Webster] 3. (Agric.) To plow so as to turn the grass side of each furrow upon an unplowed ridge; to ridge. [Eng.] [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • rafter — (n.) sloping timber of a roof, O.E. ræftras (W.Saxon), reftras (Mercian), both plural, related to O.N. raptr log (see RAFT (Cf. raft) (n.1)), from P.Gmc. *raf …   Etymology dictionary

  • rafter — rȁfter m DEFINICIJA 1. sport onaj koji se bavi raftingom 2. splavar ETIMOLOGIJA vidi raft …   Hrvatski jezični portal

  • rafter — ► NOUN ▪ a beam forming part of the internal framework of a roof. DERIVATIVES raftered adjective. ORIGIN Old English, related to RAFT(Cf. ↑rafting) …   English terms dictionary

  • rafter — rafter1 [raf′tər, räf′tər] n. [ME < OE ræfter; akin to ON raptr, log < IE base * rep , post, beam] any of the boards or planks that slope from the ridge of a roof to the eaves and serve to support the roof: see FRAME rafter2 [raf′tər,… …   English World dictionary

  • Rafter — Patrick Rafter Nationalität:  Australien Geburtstag: 28. Dezember 1972 Größe: 185 cm Gewicht: 86 kg 1. Profisaison: 1991 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • rafter — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) n. beam, timber, crosspiece, joist. See support. II (Roget s IV) n. Syn. beam, timber, crossbeam, roof beam, rib, common rafter, hip rafter, jack rafter, valley rafter; see also beam 1 , timber 2 . III… …   English dictionary for students

  • Rafter — /ˈraftə/ (say rahftuh) noun Pat(rick), born 1972, Australian tennis player; US Open champion 1997, 1998; Australian of the Year 2002. Pat Rafter was born in Mount Isa, Qld. He became a professional tennis player in 1991. As well as his wins in… …  

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