parterre

American  

[pahr-tair] / pɑrˈtɛər /

noun

1. Also called parquet circle.  the rear section of seats, and sometimes also the side sections, of the main floor of a theater, concert hall, or opera house.

2. an ornamental arrangement of flower beds of different shapes and sizes.

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parterre British  

/ pɑːˈtɛə /

noun

1. a formally patterned flower garden

2. the pit in a theatre

3. another name for parquet circle

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Other Word Forms

• parterred adjective

Etymology

Origin of parterre

1630–40; < French, noun use of phrase par terre on the ground. See per, terra

Example Sentences

Designed by acclaimed landscape architect Anthony “Tony” Holmes of Philadelphia, the grounds are divided into parterres or “rooms,” featuring an array of shrubs, perennials, annuals, herbs, heirloom roses, vines and specimen trees.

From Washington Post

The proscenium has been removed entirely and the stage brought forward 25 feet, fitted with flexible risers and parterre seating.

From Washington Post

It has to be 50 acres and it’s all parterres with vegetables and flowers.

From New York Times

Like many poets before him, he had a keen sense of how memory could repose in objects, whether “dungy sticks / In a jackdaw’s nest” or “a marble bust commanding the parterre.”

From New York Times

The “pigeon house” stood behind a locked gate, and a shallow parterre that had been somewhat neglected.

From Literature