parquet

American  

[pahr-key] / pɑrˈkeɪ /

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)

parqueted, parqueting

1. to construct (a floor) of parquetry.

parquet British  

/ ˈpɑːkeɪ, -kɪ /

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. the stalls of a theatre

4. the main part of the Paris Bourse, where officially listed securities are traded Compare coulisse

5. (in France) the department of government responsible for the prosecution of crimes

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verb

1. to cover (a floor) with parquet

Etymology

Origin of parquet

1670–80; < French, diminutive of parc park; see -et

Explanation

It must take a very long time to create a parquet floor. This type of woodwork includes many small, intricate pieces laid out in a geometrical pattern, almost like a mosaic. Parquet is a French word that rhymes with tray. In fact, this type of woodwork originated in France and seems to have first been used on the floors at the Palace of Versailles. It is decorative in nature and can be used for flooring and also for furniture, such as tabletops. Sometimes parquet is also used to describe the main seating area in a theater — closest to the orchestra, or stage.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

parquet parqueted

Built in 2008, it features parquet de Versailles flooring, 18th-century French Louis XV–carved stone fireplaces, and hand-carved marble bathtubs.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 5, 2026

A few blocks away from The Node, one of them, Snafu Records, is based at a shared office space with a parquet floor and a cocktail bar.

From BBC ● Mar. 14, 2024

But for games in Boston during this tournament, no parquet.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 2, 2023

Within weeks, she landed a deal for a stately 18th-century apartment, with parquet floors and high ceilings in the prestigious center of Russia’s former imperial capital of St. Petersburg.

From New York Times ● Jul. 31, 2023

While we were waiting I saw a cockroach on the parquet floor that must have been at least three inches long.

From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway

Seepage has rotted away the wooden beams supporting the parqueted floors, loosened the gold and plaster ceilings which are nailed precariously to deteriorating laths.

From Time Magazine Archive

In the finely parqueted floor great holes appear; the places from which fine statues of Canova's were, as the steward told us, dragged up for the Emperor of Russia.

From The Life and Letters of Maria Edgeworth, Volume 1 by Hare, Augustus J. C.

She was in high feather, and as she tramped along the cool parqueted hall she kept calling out, "Uncle Ju—where are you, Uncle Ju?"

From Patsy by Crockett, S. R. (Samuel Rutherford)

A lady who is to tread a velvet carpet or a parqueted floor does not need a wooden shoe; she needs a satin slipper or boot.

From Manners and Social Usages by Sherwood, Mrs. John M. E. W.

But when he came to the mainmast, he was even more astonished to find himself walking on a parqueted floor, partly covered by a strip of carpet of a small blue and white checked pattern.

From In Midsummer Days, and Other Tales by Strindberg, August

Related Words

• carpet
• carpeting
• linoleum
• tile
• woodwork