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ceiling

 
Dictionary: ceil·ing   ('lĭng) pronunciation
n.
    1. The upper interior surface of a room.
    2. Material used to cover this surface.
  1. Something resembling a ceiling: a ceiling of leaves over the arbor.
  2. An upper limit, especially as set by regulation: wage and price ceilings.
    1. The highest altitude under particular weather conditions from which the ground is still visible.
    2. The altitude of the lowest layer of clouds.
    3. Absolute ceiling.
  3. Nautical. The planking applied to the interior framework of a ship.

[Middle English celing, from celen, to ceil. See ceil.]

ceilinged ceil'inged adj.

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Overhead surface of a room, and the underside of a floor or roof. Suspended ceilings, which hang from the beams above, are used to conceal construction, mechanical equipment, wiring, and light fixtures. During the Renaissance, ceilings were often coffered (see coffer), vaulted (see vault), or transformed into one large framed painting.

For more information on ceiling, visit Britannica.com.

The highest level of allowance permitted for a certain good, rate, or transaction.

Investopedia Says:
Also referred to as a cap, a ceiling is a restrictive measure placed upon certain investments. An example would be a price ceiling or limit attached to an equity order given to a broker.

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Banking Dictionary: Ceiling
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1. maximum Deposit Interest Rate permitted on interest-bearing deposit accounts by Federal Reserve Regulation Q. The Regulation Q rate ceiling gradually was phased out in the 1980s, when deposit interest rates were decontrolled, allowing banks and savings institutions to compete openly for deposit dollars by paying depositors market rates for savings accounts and certificates of deposit. The legal interest rate ceiling, jointly administered by banking regulatory agencies, was originally intended to ensure that all financial institutions, no matter how large or small, had equitable access to consumer deposits. See also Depository Institutions Deregulation & Monetary Control Act; Market Rate of Interest.

2. Usury ceiling, the highest rate of interest permitted by state law on consumer installment loans and other extensions of credit.

3. In Foreign Exchange, the price level of a particular currency that triggers Intervention by central banks in the exchange markets.

Thesaurus: ceiling
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noun

    The greatest amount or number allowed: limit, limitation, maximum. See limited/unlimited.

Antonyms: ceiling
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n

Definition: maximum
Antonyms: minimum

n

Definition: top of a room
Antonyms: floor


n. 1. the maximum altitude that a particular aircraft can reach.

2. the altitude of the base of a cloud layer.

3. the inside planking of a ship's bottom and sides.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

Architecture: ceiling
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The overhead surface of a room, usually a covering or decorative treatment used to conceal the floor above or the roof.


Military Dictionary: ceiling
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(DOD) The height above the Earth's surface of the lowest layer of clouds or obscuration phenomena that is reported as "broken," "overcast," or "obscured" and not classified as "thin" or "partial."

Word Tutor: ceiling
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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: The inside top part of a room, opposite the floor.

pronunciation Every ceiling, when reached, becomes a floor, upon which one walks as a matter of course and prescriptive right. — Aldous Huxley (1894-1963).

Tutor's tip: She is "sealing" (fastening tightly) the cracks around the "ceiling" (the inside top of a room).

Wikipedia: Ceiling
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Painted ceiling, "Icarus", by Rainer Maria Latzke (around 1986), Chateau Thal, Belgium
The roof of Wells Cathedral, England.
Stretched ceiling
Ceiling paintings of Einsiedeln Abbey in Switzerland
Highly decorated Moorish-style ceiling in Agadir, Morocco

A ceiling is an overhead interior surface that bounds ("ceils") the upper limit of a room. It is generally not a structural element, but a finished surface concealing the underside of the floor or roof structure above.

Ceilings are classified according to their appearance or construction. A cathedral ceiling is any tall ceiling area similar to those in a church. A dropped ceiling is one in which the finished surface is constructed anywhere from a few inches to several feet below the structure above it. This may be done for aesthetic purposes, such as achieving a desirable ceiling height; or practical purposes such as providing a space for HVAC or piping. An inverse of this would be a raised floor. A concave or barrel shaped ceiling is curved or rounded, usually for visual or acoustical value, while a coffered ceiling is divided into a grid of recessed square or octagonal panels, also called a lacunar ceiling. A cove ceiling uses a curved plaster transition between wall and ceiling; it is named for cove molding, a molding with a concave curve.[1]

Ceilings have frequently been decorated with fresco painting, mosaic tiles and other surface treatments. While hard to execute (at least in place) a decorated ceiling has the advantage that it is largely protected from damage by fingers and dust. In the past, however, this was more than compensated for by the damage from smoke from candles or a fireplace. Many historic buildings have celebrated ceilings. Perhaps the most famous is the Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo.

demonstrative reconstruction of a Roman suspended ceiling in an Imperial palace of c. AD 306 at Trier

See also



Translations: Ceiling
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Dansk (Danish)
n. - loft, højdegrænse, skyhøjde, inderklædning

Nederlands (Dutch)
plafond, wegering

Français (French)
n. - (Aviat, Constr) plafond, plafond de, limite de

Deutsch (German)
n. - Decke, Maximum, (aer.) Gipfelhöhe, (mar.) Wegerung, Wolkenhöhe

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - οροφή, ταβάνι, (οικον.) ανώτατο όριο, πλαφόν

Italiano (Italian)
soffitto

Português (Portuguese)
n. - teto (m)

Русский (Russian)
потолок

Español (Spanish)
n. - techo, cielo raso

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - innertak, maximihöjd (flygv.), högsta gräns (bildl.)

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
天花板, 最高限度

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 天花板, 最高限度

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 천장, 최고한도

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 天井, 最高限度, 上昇限度, シーリング

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) سقف, الحد الأقصى‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮תקרה, תקרת הגובה, הציפוי בלוחות של תחתית ספינה וצדיה‬


Best of the Web: ceiling
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Math
mathworld.wolfram.com
 
 
 
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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
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Investment Dictionary. Copyright ©2000, Investopedia.com - Owned and Operated by Investopedia Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
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US Military Dictionary. The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. Copyright © 2001, 2002 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Architecture. McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
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