noun1. Also called: summer tree a large horizontal beam or girder, esp one that supports floor joists
2. another name for lintel
3. a stone on the top of a column, pier, or wall that supports an arch or lintel
Word origin
C14: from Anglo-Norman
somer, from Old French
somier beam, packhorse, from Late Latin
sagmārius (
equus) pack(horse), from
sagma a packsaddle, from Greek