Parvises

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An open area or space in front of a church or cathedral, often serving as a gathering place or forecourt; a courtyard or plaza adjoining a religious building; an external enclosed area used for public congregation at the entrance of a sacred structure
2. A forecourt or open plaza situated before a place of worship, commonly used for assemblies or ceremonies; an external court or space directly outside a church entrance; a gathering area forming an architectural transitional zone preceding a religious edifice
3. The enclosed or open space immediately in front of a church, functioning as a meeting or assembly site; a courtyard region contiguous to a religious building; an external space designated for congregations before entering a sacred venue

Etymology: Few English words have a more surprising route back to a garden than this one. "Parvis" began in Latin as "paradisus," the same word that gave English "paradise," and it reached the Middle Ages through Old French "parevis" and Middle English "parvys." The shift from heavenly garden to churchyard plaza is the key to the story: the court in front of St Peter's in Rome was the early model, and the name spread from there to similar open spaces before other churches. The word is a doublet of "paradise," meaning the two forms descended from the same source but took different paths into English. "Paradise" came in as a religious term for the Garden of Eden, while "parvis" stayed attached to a physical space. Both trace back to Ancient Greek "parádeisos," which denoted an enclosed park or garden, ultimately from a Proto-Iranian root.

Synonyms: forecourts, churchyards