Gambrel

A gambrel, or gambrel roof, is a usually symmetrical two-sided roof with two slopes on each side. The upper slope is positioned at a shallow angle, while the lower slope is steep. This design provides the advantages of a sloped roof while maximizing headroom inside the building's upper level and shortening what would otherwise be a tall roof, as well as reducing the span of each set of rafters. The name comes from the Medieval Latin word gamba, meaning 'horse's hock or leg'. The term gambrel is of American origin, the older, European English name being curb roof (kerb roof, kirb roof). Europeans historically did not distinguish between a gambrel roof and a mansard roof but called both types mansard roofs. In the United States, various shapes of gambrel roofs are sometimes called Dutch gambrels, Dutch Colonial gambrels, or Swedish, German, English, French, or New England gambrels, or bell-cast eaves. The cross-section of a gambrel roof is similar to that of a mansard roof, but a gambrel has vertical gable ends instead of being hipped at the four corners of the building. A gambrel roof overhangs the façade, whereas a mansard normally does not.