barrel tile

noun

: a semi-cylindrical roofing tile that is laid in interlocking columns that alternate with one column having the convex side facing up and the next column having the concave side facing up

When I notice the red barrel tiles on the roof, I wonder if perhaps all of the houses on the block shared this feature at one time.

—R. Stephanie Bruno, Times-Picayune (New Orleans, Louisiana), 22 May 2010

Word History

First Known Use

1929, in the meaning defined above

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