piazza

pi·az·za

noun \pē-ˈa-zə, -ˈä-, 1 is usually -ˈat-sə, -ˈät-\

: an open public area in a town or city (especially in Italy) that is usually surrounded by buildings

plural piazzas or pi·az·ze \-ˈat-(ˌ)sā, -ˈät-\

Full Definition of PIAZZA

1

plural piazze :  an open square especially in an Italian town

2

a :  an arcaded and roofed gallery

b dialect :  veranda, porch

Examples of PIAZZA

1. <let's enjoy our mint juleps out on the piazza>

Origin of PIAZZA

Italian, from Latin platea broad street — more at place

First Known Use: 1563

Related to PIAZZA

Synonyms

gallery [Southern & Midland], lanai, porch [dialect], stoop, veranda (or verandah)

Related Words

galilee, portico; sleeping porch, solarium, sunporch, sunroom (also sun parlor); porte cochere

Other Architecture Terms

buttress, casita, cornice, fanlight, garret, lintel, parapet, pilaster, plinth

Rhymes with PIAZZA

Hidatsa

piazza

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Open square or marketplace, surrounded by buildings, in an Italian town or city. It was equivalent to the plaza of Spanish-speaking countries. The term became more widely used in the 16th–18th century, denoting any large open space with buildings around it. In 17th–18th-century Britain, long covered walks or galleries with roofs supported by columns were called piazzas; in the U.S. in the 19th century, piazza was another name for a veranda formed by projecting eaves.