Editing Loft (section)

==Loft and attic==
In US usage, a loft is an upper room or [[floor|storey]] in a [[building]], mainly in a barn, directly under the [[roof]], used for storage (as in most private houses).  In this sense it is roughly synonymous with [[attic]], the major difference being that an attic typically constitutes an entire floor of the building, while a loft covers only a few rooms, leaving one or more sides open to the lower floor.

In British usage, lofts are usually just a roof space accessed via a hatch and loft ladder, while attics tend to be rooms immediately under the roof accessed via a staircase. Lofts may have a specific purpose, e.g. an [[organ loft]] in a [[Church (building)|church]], or to sleep in (sleeping loft). In barns a hayloft is often larger than the ground floor, since it would store a year's worth of hay.

An attic or loft can often be converted to form a functional living accommodation (see [[Loft conversions in the United Kingdom]]).

In modern [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]] and in English, "loft" is used for the upper room or the space just under the roof in larger buildings. The word originates from [[Old Norse]] ''lopt, loft'' which also could mean air or being elevated (as in the related word ''løfte'', English "to lift").<ref>De Caprona, Y. (2013). ''Norsk etymologisk ordbok: tematisk ordnet''. Kagge.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/loft|title = Definition of LOFT| date=23 August 2023 }}</ref> In older Scandinavian usage, ''[[Loft (building)|loft]]'' referred to a two-storey unheated building used for storage and bedroom, in contrast to dwelling buildings that were one-storey with a fireplace.<ref>Pulsiano, P., & Wolf, K. (Eds.). (2017). ''Routledge Revivals: Medieval Scandinavia (1993): An Encyclopedia'' (Vol. 1). Routledge.</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315089034-14/housing-culture-scandinavian-perspectives-else-roesdahl | doi=10.4324/9781315089034-14 | date=2018 | isbn=978-1-315-08903-4 | last1=Roesdahl | first1=Else | title=Reflections: 50 Years of Medieval Archaeology, 1957–2007 | chapter=Housing Culture: Scandinavian Perspectives | pages=271–288 | publisher=Routledge }}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=loft – bygningstype |date=2021-06-24 |url=http://snl.no/loft_-_bygningstype |work=Store norske leksikon |language=nb |access-date=2022-03-31}}</ref>