garret

Etymology

From Middle English garett, garite, from Old French garite, guerite (“watchtower”), from garir, guarir (“to defend, protect”) (compare English garrison), ultimately of Germanic origin (see English garage). Doublet of guerite.

noun

1. An attic or semi-finished room just beneath the roof of a house.
   On an exceptionally hot evening early in July a young man came out of the garret in which he lodged in S. Place and walked slowly, as though in hesitation, towards K. bridge. 1866, Fyodor Dostoyevsky (translated by Constance Garnett), Crime and Punishment, Part I, Chapter I
   I was in the main garret, with huge beams and rafters over my head, great spaces around me, a door here and there in sight, and long vistas whose gloom was thinned by a few lurking cobwebbed windows and small dusky skylights. 1895, George MacDonald, Lilith
   While a boon to garret-living, financially struggling young musicians, the library has caught the attention of music publishers. 2011-02-22, Daniel J. Wakin, “Free Trove of Music Scores on Web Hits Sensitive Copyright Note”, in New York Times