Revised as of
12 Nov 2022
Without God’s protection and benevolence, Adam and Eve had to shelter beneath the eave of an outcropping during the storm.
I must confess I hadn’t realized that using the plural form of eave is more common. I got to remembering an unusual event in a house at which I was staying and thinking, at the time, that the pigeons had gotten into the eaves. I never thought to say eave. It just goes to show how one’s unconscious thought may war with what your conscious “knows” is correct.
And yes, it’s another pair of heterographs *grin*
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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| Eave | Eve |
|---|---|
Italianate Eave with Brackets is Stilfehler’s own work under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. |
Adam and Eve in Paradise (The Fall) was painted by Lucas Cranach the Elder in 1533, and is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Noun
More commonly as a plural noun: eaves |
Noun 1; Proper Noun 2
Plural for the nouns: eves, Eves |
| [Usually eaves] The overhanging lower edge of a roof
[Often eaves] the overhanging edge of anything, such as a hat |
Noun: The day or period of time immediately before an event or occasion
Proper noun: A female given name: from a Hebrew word meaning life |
| Examples: | |
| There are wild bees nesting under the eaves.
Eaves are meant to keep rain water off the walls and prevent water getting in where the roof meets the wall. The Arts and Crafts Movement encouraged very wide eaves with decorative brackets. Design your eaves with your local wind speed in mind, as the overhang can greatly increase wind loading on the roof. Already time had begun a little to color the stone, lending a golden richness to its surface and in the evening or on dark days touching the shaded places beneath the eaves with wavering patches of browns and blacks. There was the old gray house with its sloping eaves. |
Noun: On the eve of her departure, he gave her a little parcel. Mom insisted we attend the service for Passover eve. It’s almost Christmas Eve, and Santa will be bringing presents! ‘Twas a bitter winter’s eve that saw her turn into the yard. It was the eve of his execution, and Rachel hoped he made a bad end. Proper Noun: Eve was said to have been created with one of Adam’s ribs. Eve Dallas is a character is one of my favorite romantic suspense series. |
| Derivatives: | |
|
Adjective: eaved, uneaved Noun: eavesdropper, eavestrough Verb: eavesdrop |
|
| History of the Word: | |
| Old English efes (singular) is of Germanic origin and related to the German dialect Obsen. |
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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Eave versus Eve
Apple Dictionary.com
Dictionary.com: eave
Pinterest Photo Credits:
Frontal Eave is DagosNavy’s own work under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license and Cosmic “Winter” Wonderland is courtesy of NASA and in the public domain. Both are via Wikimedia Commons.
