Concourses

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A large open space where crowds gather, typically found in public buildings like airports or train stations
2. Areas designed for easy movement and gathering of people, often characterized by high ceilings and extensive seating
3. Spaces that facilitate the flow of large numbers of individuals, often serving as transition zones between different sections of a facility

Etymology: The plural here is simply the regular plural of "concourse," so the story belongs to the singular. "Concourse" came into English from Middle French "concours," which in turn came from Latin "concursus," a running together. That Latin noun is built on "concurrere," meaning "to run together," so the original sense is physical: a gathering of people or things moving toward one another. The English word is a doublet of "concours," meaning the two words descend from the same Latin source but reached English by different routes and took on different shades of meaning. The Latin root also gave English "concur," which shares its sense of things coming together. Read the word's ancestry closely and the modern picture of a busy hall full of converging travellers follows naturally from that original sense of running together.

Synonyms: gatherings, assemblies, convergences