Etymology

Borrowed from FrenchCategory:English terms borrowed from French#PARTERRECategory:English terms derived from French#PARTERRE parterre (“on the ground”), from par (“on”) + terre (“ground”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /pɑːˈtɛə/Category:English 2-syllable words#PARTERRECategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#PARTERRE

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

    Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#PARTERRE
• (General American) IPA^(key): /pɑːɹˈtɛɚ/Category:English 3-syllable words#PARTERRECategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#PARTERRE
• Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)Category:Rhymes:English/ɛə(ɹ)#PARTERRECategory:Rhymes:English/ɛə(ɹ)/2 syllables#PARTERRE
• Hyphenation: par‧terre

Noun

parterre (plural parterres)Category:English lemmas#PARTERRECategory:English nouns#PARTERRECategory:English countable nouns#PARTERRECategory:English entries with incorrect language header#PARTERRECategory:Pages with entries#PARTERRECategory:Pages with 4 entries#PARTERRE

1. (horticultureCategory:en:Horticulture#PARTERRE) A flowerbed, particularly an elevated one.
   • 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Sir Robert Walpole and House”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 238:

     The window opened towards a most lovely garden, whose smooth turf and gorgeous parterres swept down to the river.

     Category:English terms with quotations#PARTERRE

2. (horticultureCategory:en:Horticulture#PARTERRE) A garden with paths between such flowerbeds.
   • 2015 August 29, Sarah Raven, “The stately home garden where you can pick-and-eat all summer [print version: Pick-and-eat planting for the modern parterre, page 5]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Gardening)‎, archived from the original on 3 September 2015:

     Parham House, near Pulborough in West Sussex, has a four-acre walled garden that was restored in the Twenties and has been maintained at a high level ever since. It is divided into four areas, one of which is filled by the cut-flower borders and a box-enclosed parterre. […] It is traditional in a parterre to mix flowers and veg, but this relaxed jungle of productive plants, packed in tight together, is lusher and more beautiful than the more usual Villandry style, where single or pairs of plants are used.

     Category:English terms with quotations#PARTERRE

3. (theaterCategory:en:Theater#PARTERRE) A part of the section of theater seats located on the ground floor, on the same level as the orchestra.
   • 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter III, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:

     That was Selwyn's first encounter with the Ruthvens. A short time afterward at the opera Gerald dragged him into a parterre to say something amiable to one of the amiable débutante Craig girls—and Selwyn found himself again facing Alixe.

     Category:English terms with quotations#PARTERRE

   1. The part of the ground-floor section nearest the orchestra and the stage; the stalls.
   2. (BritishCategory:British English#PARTERRE) The part of the ground-floor section behind the stalls and underneath the galleries; the pit.
4. (theaterCategory:en:Theater#PARTERRE, by extension) That part of a theater audience seated in the parterre, sometimes regarded as belonging to a lower social class.
5. (USCategory:American English#PARTERRE, New YorkCategory:New York English#PARTERRE) An apartment balcony.

Etymology

Borrowed from FrenchCategory:Dutch terms borrowed from French#PARTERRECategory:Dutch terms derived from French#PARTERRE parterre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌpɑrˈtɛː.rə/Category:Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation#PARTERRE

• Audio:

  (file)

  Category:Dutch terms with audio pronunciation#PARTERRE
• Hyphenation: par‧ter‧re
• Rhymes: -ɛːrəCategory:Rhymes:Dutch/ɛːrə#PARTERRE

Noun

parterre m or n (plural parterres or parterren, no diminutive)Category:Dutch lemmas#PARTERRECategory:Dutch nouns#PARTERRECategory:Dutch nouns with plural in -s#PARTERRECategory:Dutch nouns with plural in -en#PARTERRECategory:Dutch nouns with red links in their headword lines#PARTERRECategory:Dutch entries with incorrect language header#PARTERRECategory:Dutch masculine nouns#PARTERRECategory:Dutch neuter nouns#PARTERRECategory:Dutch nouns with multiple genders#PARTERRECategory:Pages with entries#PARTERRECategory:Pages with 4 entries#PARTERRE

1. ground floor

   Synonym: begane grond

2. parterre, flowerbed
3. parterre, level garden with flowerbeds

Etymology

Inherited from Middle FrenchCategory:French terms inherited from Middle French#PARTERRECategory:French terms derived from Middle French#PARTERRE [Term?]Category:Middle French term requests#PARTERRE. Equivalent to par +‎ terreCategory:French compound terms#PARTERRE.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /paʁ.tɛʁ/Category:French 2-syllable words#PARTERRECategory:French terms with IPA pronunciation#PARTERRE

• Audio:

  (file)

  Category:French terms with audio pronunciation#PARTERRE
• Hyphenation: par‧terre

Noun

parterre m (plural parterres)Category:French lemmas#PARTERRECategory:French nouns#PARTERRECategory:French countable nouns#PARTERRECategory:French entries with incorrect language header#PARTERRECategory:French masculine nouns#PARTERRECategory:Pages with entries#PARTERRECategory:Pages with 4 entries#PARTERRE

1. part of a garden that is divided into flowerbeds
2. the part of a theater between the stalls and the rear
   1. (by extension) the members of a theater audience seated in the parterre
   2. (by analogy) an assembly or group of people

Further reading

• “parterre”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Etymology

Borrowed from FrenchCategory:Spanish terms borrowed from French#PARTERRECategory:Spanish terms derived from French#PARTERRE parterre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /paɾˈtere/ [paɾˈt̪e.re]Category:Spanish 3-syllable words#PARTERRECategory:Spanish terms with IPA pronunciation#PARTERRE
• Rhymes: -ereCategory:Rhymes:Spanish/ere#PARTERRECategory:Rhymes:Spanish/ere/3 syllables#PARTERRE
• Syllabification: par‧te‧rre

Noun

parterre m (plural parterres)Category:Spanish lemmas#PARTERRECategory:Spanish nouns#PARTERRECategory:Spanish countable nouns#PARTERRECategory:Spanish entries with incorrect language header#PARTERRECategory:Spanish masculine nouns#PARTERRECategory:Pages with entries#PARTERRECategory:Pages with 4 entries#PARTERRE

1. flowerbed

   Synonyms: macizo, cantero

Further reading

• “parterre”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025