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par·terre

(pär-târ)

1. An ornamental flower garden having the beds and paths arranged to form a pattern.

2. See parquet circle.

[French, from Old French, ornamental garden, from par terre, on the ground : par, over, on; see PARAMOUNT + terre, ground (from Old French, from Latin terra, earth; see ters- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots).]

(click for a larger image)

parterre

at the Château de Villandry

Villandry, France

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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