awning
n. countablen. a piece of cloth or plastic that is fixed over a window or door to keep the sun or rain out. It is often used on the outside of a building to provide shade.
n. a piece of fabric or other material stretched over a frame and fixed to a building to provide shade or protection from the weather. Often used in a nautical context to refer to a similar covering over a deck.
The shop owner pulled down the awning to protect the customers from the sun.
The café installed a retractable awning over the outdoor seating area to allow for dining during the hottest part of the day.
While the main deck was exposed to the elements, a heavy canvas awning provided a dry and shaded area for the crew to gather and eat their midday meal.
1615-25 (nautical sense only); from awn + -ing, reduction of Middle French auvans (“sloping roof”), from Old French anvant (1180), from Gaulish an(de)bannā (“eaves”) (compare Occitan ambans (“parapet”)), form of ande- (intensive prefix) (compare Welsh an-, Old Irish ind-) + bandā (“horn; peak”) (compare Welsh ban, Irish beann).