# joist

> English word · Noun · IPA /d͡ʒɔɪst/ · frequency rank #70,792

## Definitions
1. A piece of timber or steel laid horizontally, or nearly so, to which the planks of the floor, or the laths or furring strips of a ceiling, are nailed.

## Etymology
From Old French giste, feminine of gist, the past participle of gesir (“to lie down”).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/joist