a rooflike shelter of canvas or other material extending over a doorway, from the top of a window, over a deck, etc., in order to provide protection, as from the sun.
a roof of canvas or other material supported by a frame to provide protection from the weather, esp one placed over a doorway or part of a deck of a ship
1624, origin uncertain (first recorded use is by Capt. John Smith), perhaps from M.Fr. auvans pl. of auvent "a sloping roof." Nautical term until sense of "cover for windows or porch" emerged 1852.