Adjacent Words

Terrace definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

TER'RACE, n. [L. terra, the earth.]
1. In gardening, a raised bank of earth with sloping sides, laid with turf, and graveled on the top for a walk.
2. A balcony or open gallery.
3. The flat roof of a house. All the buildings of the oriental nations are covered with terraces, where people walk or sleep.
TER'RACE, v.t. To form in to a terrace.
1. To open to the air and light.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: usually paved outdoor area adjoining a residence [syn: patio, terrace]
2: a level shelf of land interrupting a declivity (with steep slopes above and below) [syn: terrace, bench]
3: a row of houses built in a similar style and having common dividing walls (or the street on which they face); "Grosvenor Terrace" v
1: provide (a house) with a terrace; "We terrassed the country house" [syn: terrace, terrasse]
2: make into terraces as for cultivation; "The Incas terraced their mountainous land"

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle French, platform, terrace, from Old French, from Old Occitan terrassa, from terra earth, from Latin, earth, land; akin to Latin torr?re to parch — more at thirst Date: 1515 1. a. a colonnaded porch or promenade b. a flat roof or open platform c. a relatively level paved or planted area adjoining a building 2. a. a raised embankment with the top leveled b. one of usually a series of horizontal ridges made in a hillside to increase cultivatable land, conserve moisture, or minimize erosion 3. a level ordinarily narrow plain usually with steep front bordering a river, lake, or sea; also a similar undersea feature 4. a. a row of houses or apartments on raised ground or a sloping site b. a group of row houses c. a strip of park in the middle of a street often planted with trees or shrubs d. street 5. a section of a British soccer stadium set aside for standing spectators II. transitive verb (terraced; terracing) Date: 1650 1. to provide (as a building or hillside) with a terrace 2. to make into a terrace

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 each of a series of flat areas formed on a slope and used for cultivation. 2 a level paved area next to a house. 3 a a row of houses on a raised level or along the top or face of a slope. b a row of houses built in one block of uniform style. 4 a flight of wide shallow steps as for spectators at a sports ground. 5 Geol. a raised beach, or a similar formation beside a river etc. --v.tr. form into or provide with a terrace or terraces. Phrases and idioms: terraced house Brit. = terrace house. terraced roof a flat roof esp. of an Indian or Eastern house. terrace house Brit. any of a row of houses joined by party-walls. Etymology: OF ult. f. L terra earth

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Terrace Ter"race, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Terraced; p. pr. & vb. n. Terracing.] To form into a terrace or terraces; to furnish with a terrace or terraces, as, to terrace a garden, or a building. --Sir H. Wotton. Clermont's terraced height, and Esher's groves. --Thomson.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Terrace Ter"race, n. [F. terrasse (cf. Sp. terraza, It. terrazza), fr. L. terra the earth, probably for tersa, originally meaning, dry land, and akin to torrere to parch, E. torrid, and thirst. See Thirst, and cf. Fumitory, Inter, v., Patterre, Terrier, Trass, Tureen, Turmeric.] 1. A raised level space, shelf, or platform of earth, supported on one or more sides by a wall, a bank of tuft, or the like, whether designed for use or pleasure. 2. A balcony, especially a large and uncovered one. 3. A flat roof to a house; as, the buildings of the Oriental nations are covered with terraces. 4. A street, or a row of houses, on a bank or the side of a hill; hence, any street, or row of houses. 5. (Geol.) A level plain, usually with a steep front, bordering a river, a lake, or sometimes the sea. Note: Many rivers are bordered by a series of terraces at different levels, indicating the flood plains at successive periods in their history. Terrace epoch. (Geol.) See Drift epoch, under Drift, a.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(terraces) 1. A terrace is a row of similar houses joined together by their side walls. (BRIT) ...a terrace of stylish Victorian houses. ...3 Queensborough Terrace. N-COUNT; N-IN-NAMES 2. A terrace is a flat area of stone or grass next to a building where people can sit. N-COUNT 3. Terraces are a series of flat areas built like steps on the side of a hill so that crops can be grown there. ...massive terraces of maize and millet carved into the mountainside like giant steps. N-COUNT: usu pl 4. The terraces at a football ground are wide steps that people can stand on when they are watching a game. (BRIT) N-PLURAL: the N

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ter'-as (mecillah): Solomon is said, in 2Ch 9:11, to have made of the algum trees brought him from Ophir "terraces," or raised walks, for the house of Yahweh. In the parallel 1Ki 10:12, the word used is rendered "pillars," margin "`a railing'; Hebrew `a prop.'"

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Plateau, esplanade.

Moby Thesaurus

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