Courtyards

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An open space that is enclosed by walls or buildings, typically used for leisure or gatherings
2. A space surrounded by a building or several structures, often designed for social interactions or relaxation
3. An outdoor area enclosed by walls or structures, often found within a building complex

Etymology: "Courtyards" is the plural of "courtyard," a compound of "court" and "yard." Both halves are old English words that long predate the compound. "Yard" traces back to an Old English word for an enclosure or enclosed piece of ground, and it is the same root that gives us "garden" and "gird" in the sense of enclosing something with a band. "Court" came into English from Old French "cort," which descends from Latin "cohors," an enclosed yard or farmstead, and that Latin word also gave rise to "cohort," originally a unit of soldiers based in such a yard. So the word simply joins two meanings of enclosed ground. The court supplies the sense of a walled space around or before a building, and the yard supplies the sense of an enclosure. Together they describe an open area walled in by buildings or walls, a form of the word that is nothing more than a plain description of what it is.

Synonyms: patios, yards, enclosures, squares, gardens