Parterre

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /pɑːˈtɛə/

Definitions

1. A level garden space designed with ornamental patterns usually formed by flower beds or low hedges ; the seating area on the floor of a theater near the stage, often called the stalls or orchestra seating
2. An arranged garden space featuring decorative plant beds or low greenery ; the lower public seating section in a theater, typically providing good views of the stage
3. A formal garden section with patterned beds surrounded by walkways or grass ; the main floor seating area in a theater located closest to the performance space

Etymology: The French "parterre" literally means "on the ground," built from "par" ("on") and "terre" ("ground"). The sense that matters most for English is a garden design, and it is a telling one: French gardeners laid out flower beds in patterns that were meant to be seen from above, from a terrace or upper window, so the ground itself became a kind of embroidery. The word carried that sense of a bed set flat on the earth, which is why it still names an ornamental arrangement of beds divided by paths. The theatre sense grew out of the same idea of a level area. In the playhouse, the parterre is the ground-level floor, the stalls closest to the stage, as opposed to the raised galleries and boxes above. Its meaning shifted from the earth beneath a garden to the people standing or seated on the ground floor of an auditorium.

Synonyms: terrace, platform