louver, arrangement of parallel, horizontal blades, slats, laths, slips of glass, wood, or other material designed to regulate airflow or light penetration. Louvers are often used in windows or doors in order to allow air or light in while keeping sunshine or moisture out. They may be either movable or fixed. The name louver was originally applied to a turret or domelike lantern set on roofs of medieval European buildings for ventilation; the arrangement of boards now called a louver was one means of closing the apertures of this turret against weather. This original use of louvers is still current as covering for the intake and exhaust system of some ventilation and air-conditioning units.
A louvered window is one having louvered construction, whether of glass or some other material. A louvered door has some part of it filled with louvers to allow air to pass while the door is closed. Closet doors sometimes have louvers. A louvered ceiling has a system of louvers dropped below light sources in order to shield or conceal them.