parterre

noun par·terre \ pär-ˈter \

Definition of parterre

1 :an ornamental garden with paths between the beds

2 :the part of the main floor of a theater that is behind the orchestra; especially :parquet circle

Recent Examples of parterre from the Web

True to the period of the house, this one encloses a parterre garden accented by crape myrtle, camellia, sago palm, and banana.

— lindsay bierman, Southern Living, "The New Must-Have Coffee Table Book: New Roads and Old Rivers," 11 July 2017
Often regarded as England’s Versailles, Cliveden House also features the Prince of Wales Suite, complete with views of the lush 19th-century parterre.

— michaela trimble, Vogue, "9 Grand European Mansions Where You Can Spend the Night," 30 June 2017
At the fete, attendees filled the side parterre garden, the house and back courtyard, where Deacon John and the Ivories entertained, with an audience not shy to dance.

— sue strachan, NOLA.com, "Beauregard-Keyes Historic House and Garden sensational sunset soiree," 6 June 2017
Victorian walled vegetable plots, orchards, parterres and pergolas, wildflower meadows, shady dells …

— USA TODAY, "Photo tour: British hotels with gorgeous gardens," 22 May 2017
OUTDOOR SPACE: The area around the house is landscaped, with brick patios and more than 2,600 azaleas, as well as a fenced parterre with roses and vegetable beds.

— mike powell, New York Times, "$900,000 Homes in Dallas, Maryland and Wisconsin," 14 Dec. 2016
Make participation the entry requirement for lotteries that offer lavish prizes, like a parterre box for a night, a private dress fitting in the costume department or a chance to shadow a director for a day.

— zachary woolfe, anthony tommasini, michael cooper, corinna da fonseca-wollheim and david allen, New York Times, "The Met Opera Is Struggling. How Can It Fill Those Empty Seats?," 4 May 2016
Mr. Hvorostovsky returned the eager waves of Florence Illi, his wife, and their two young children, Maxim and Nina, who were sitting in a parterre box not far from Renée Fleming, a close colleague.

— anthony tommasini, New York Times, "Review: Dmitri Hvorostovsky Sings of Life, Love and Sadness at Carnegie Hall," 18 Feb. 2016

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'parterre.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

parterre Has French Roots

Parterre comes to English by way of French, where it means "on the ground". And in the early years of the theater, the parterre was truly on the ground. In Shakespeare's day, an English theater's parterre was the cheap standing-room area right in front of the stage, normally filled with rowdy spectators. The original idea of the French parterre garden, with its carefully designed plots and walkways, was to present an artistic pattern when seen from above—from a balcony, a raised terrace, or the top of an outdoor staircase. English gardeners responded with garden designs that tried to make their viewers half-forget that they were seeing something created by humans rather than untamed nature itself.