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piazza

[ pee-az-uh, -ah-zuh or for 1, 3 especially British, pee-at-suh, -aht-; for 1 also Italian pyaht-tsah ]
/ piˈæz ə, -ˈɑ zə or for 1, 3 especially British, piˈæt sə, -ˈɑt-; for 1 also Italian ˈpyɑt tsɑ /
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noun, plural pi·az·zas, Italian piaz·ze [pyaht-tse] /ˈpyɑt tsɛ/.

an open square or public place in a city or town, especially in Italy.
Chiefly New England and Inland South. a large porch on a house; veranda.
Chiefly British. an arcade or covered walk or gallery, as around a public square or in front of a building.

RELATED WORDS

stoop, square, portico, patio, colonnade, balcony, veranda

Nearby words

piatigorsky, piatigorsky, gregor, piatra neamt, piauí, piave, piazza, piazzi, piazzi, giuseppe, pibal, pibgorn, piblokto

Origin of piazza

1575–85; < Italian < Latin platēa courtyard, orig., street < Greek plateîa, noun use of feminine of platýs flat1. See place
Related formspi·az·zaed, adjectivepi·az·zi·an, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for piazza

British Dictionary definitions for piazza

piazza

/ (pɪˈætsə, -ˈædzə, Italian ˈpjattsa) /

noun

a large open square in an Italian town
mainly British a covered passageway or gallery

Word Origin for piazza

C16: from Italian: marketplace, from Latin platēa courtyard, from Greek plateia; see place
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 piazza

piazza

n.

1580s, "public square in an Italian town," from Italian piazza, from Latin platea "courtyard, broad street," from Greek plateia (hodos) "broad (street);" see place (n.). According to OED, mistakenly applied in English 1640s to the colonnade of Covent Garden, designed by Inigo Jones, rather than to the marketplace itself; hence "the verandah of a house" (1724, chiefly American English).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Culture definitions for piazza

piazza

[ (pee-az-uh, pee-ah-zuh, pee-aht-suh) ]

An open square, especially in a city or town in Italy.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.