parvis

American  

[pahr-vis] / ˈpɑr vɪs /

noun

1. a vacant enclosed area in front of a church.

2. a colonnade or portico in front of a church.

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parvis British  

/ ˈpɑːvɪs /

noun

1. a court or portico in front of a building, esp a church

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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

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

There was a crowd in the parvis, and men, women, and children in a stream were coming and going through the narrow doors of the church.

From An Eagle Flight A Filipino Novel Adapted from Noli Me Tangere by Rizal, José

The council to-day will revoke the suspension of the edicts, and once more the hell-fires will be lit on the parvis of every church in Paris.

From Orrain A Romance by Levett-Yeats, S.

Opiniones omnium philosophorum qui sectas varias condiderunt usque ad tempora sua vi. non parvis voluminibus quidam Celsus absolvit; nec redarguit aliquem, sed tantum quid sentirent aperuit.

From The Student's Companion to Latin Authors by Middleton, George