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parquet

[pahr-key]
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noun
  1. a floor composed of short strips or blocks of wood forming a pattern, sometimes with inlays of other woods or other materials.
  2. the part of the main floor of a theater, opera house, etc., that is between the musicians' area and the parterre or rear division or, especially in the U.S., the entire floor space for spectators.
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verb (used with object), par·queted [pahr-keyd] /pɑrˈkeɪd/, par·quet·ing [pahr-key-ing] /pɑrˈkeɪ ɪŋ/.
  1. to construct (a floor) of parquetry.
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Origin of parquet

1670–80; < French, diminutive of parc park; see -et
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for parquet

Historical Examples

  • "Give us the truth," some one at the left of the parquet cried.

    An American Suffragette

    Isaac N. Stevens

  • There's a man over there in the parquet that I want to say a word to; don't wait for me.

  • The parquet floor was to be supplied with rugs of warm Eastern colours.

    The Lady of the Basement Flat

    Mrs. George de Horne Vaizey

  • Within, the wards are lined by glazed tiles, and the floors are of parquet.

    Holborn and Bloomsbury

    Sir Walter Besant

  • Zollern tapped his cane on the parquet floor, rhythmically, persistently.

British Dictionary definitions for parquet

parquet

noun
  1. a floor covering of pieces of hardwood fitted in a decorative pattern; parquetry
  2. Also called: parquet floor a floor so covered
  3. US the stalls of a theatre
  4. the main part of the Paris Bourse, where officially listed securities are tradedCompare coulisse (def. 3)
  5. (in France) the department of government responsible for the prosecution of crimes
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verb (tr)
  1. to cover (a floor) with parquet
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Word Origin

C19: from Old French: small enclosure, from parc enclosure; see park
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for parquet

n.

1816, "patterned wooden flooring," from French parquet "wooden flooring; enclosed portion of a park," from Old French parchet (14c.) "small compartment, part of a park or theater," diminutive of parc (see park (n.)).

Meaning "part of a theater auditorium at the front of the ground floor" is first recorded 1848. The noun use in English has been influenced by the verb (attested from 1640s, from French parqueter. Related: Parquetry

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper