parvis
Americannoun
-
a vacant enclosed area in front of a church.
-
a colonnade or portico in front of a church.
noun
Etymology
Origin of parvis
1350–1400; Middle English < Middle French; Old French pare ( v ) is < Late Latin paradīsus church courtyard, originally the one before St. Peter's, Rome. See paradise
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In Paris, they marred the city’s famous public spaces, cluttering the Esplanade des Invalides, the Place Vendôme, the banks of the Seine, and the parvis in front of Notre Dame.
From Slate ● Mar. 30, 2023
So, decentralized it is, and multi-disciplinary: a studio and an auditorium for movies, dance and other performances; a restaurant, and a large parvis as in Paris, currently planted with saplings.
From New York Times ● May 12, 2010
One end of it opened on the parvis of the Cathedral; the other and quieter end appeared to abut on the west gate of the town.
From Historical Romances: Under the Red Robe, Count Hannibal, A Gentleman of France by Weyman, Stanley J.
Si parvis componere magna recibit, we may admit that the rise of Nash and that of Napoleon were owing to similar causes.
From The Wits and Beaux of Society Volume 1 by Wharton, Grace
If Mr. Hallam's accuracy in parvis could be fairly judged by the following instance, and that given by your correspondent "CANTAB."
From Notes and Queries, Number 27, May 4, 1850 by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
