mezzanine

[mez-uh-neen, mez-uh-neen]

noun

1. the lowest balcony or forward part of such a balcony in a theater.

2. a low story between two other stories of greater height in a building, especially when the low story and the one beneath it form part of one composition; an entresol.

mezzanine

/ ˈmɛtsəˌniːn, ˈmɛzəˌniːn /

noun

1. Also called: mezzanine floor.  entresol. an intermediate storey, esp a low one between the ground and first floor of a building

2. theatre the first balcony

3. theatre a room or floor beneath the stage

adjective

1. Often shortened to: mezz. of or relating to an intermediate stage in a financial process

   mezzanine funding

Word History and Origins

Origin of mezzanine¹

1705–15; < French < Italian mezzanino, equivalent to mezzan ( o ) middle (< Latin mediānus median ) + -ino diminutive suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of mezzanine¹

C18: from French, from Italian, diminutive of mezzano middle, from Latin mediānus _median

Example Sentences

Next spring, it will add a mezzanine with a row of up to six skyboxes for VIPs.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

He explained the strange alchemy of the mezzanine CDO—and said that he expected losses up to $300 billion from this sliver of the market alone.

Read more on Literature

If you don’t mind being indoors, my colleague Deborah Vankin suggests Far Bar in Little Tokyo, where she celebrated her birthday on the mezzanine with about 50 friends.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“It’s like saying, ‘I’m going to go to Dodger Stadium, grab someone from the third row of the mezzanine section, and they can play the violin at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.’

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Concerns were previously raised that the installation of a mezzanine floor could damage the fabric of the building and erode evidence of the its original layout.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• balcony