park
pronunciation
How to pronounce park in British English:
UK [pɑːk]
How to pronounce park in American English:
US [pɑːrk]
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- Noun:
- a large area of land preserved in its natural state as public property
- a piece of open land for recreational use in an urban area
- a facility in which ball games are played (especially baseball games)
- a lot where cars are parked
- a gear position that acts as a parking brake
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- Verb:
- place temporarily
- maneuver a vehicle into a parking space
Word Origin
- park
- park: [13] The origins of park are Germanic. It goes back to a prehistoric Germanic base, meaning ‘enclosed place’, which has also given English paddock. This reached English by direct descent, but park took a route via medieval Latin. Here it was parricus, which passed into English via Old French parc. The verbal use of park, for ‘place a vehicle’, began to emerge in the early 19th century, and was based on the notion of putting military vehicles, artillery, etc in an ‘enclosure’. Parquet [19] comes from a diminutive of French parc, in the sense ‘small enclosed place’.=> paddock, parquet
- park (n.)
- mid-13c., "enclosed preserve for beasts of the chase," from Old French parc "enclosed wood or heath land used as a game preserve" (12c.), probably ultimately from West Germanic *parruk "enclosed tract of land" (cognates: Old English pearruc, root of paddock (n.2), Old High German pfarrih "fencing about, enclosure," German pferch "fold for sheep," Dutch park). Internal evidence suggests the West Germanic word is pre-4c. and originally meant the fencing, not the place enclosed. Found also in Medieval Latin as parricus "enclosure, park" (8c.), which likely is the direct source of the Old French word, as well as Italian parco, Spanish parque, etc. Some claim the Medieval Latin word as the source of the West Germanic, but the reverse seems more likely. Some later senses in English represent later borrowings from French. OED discounts notion of a Celtic origin. Welsh parc, Gaelic pairc are from English. Meaning "enclosed lot in or near a town, for public recreation" is first attested 1660s, originally in reference to London; the sense evolution is via royal parks in the original, hunting sense being overrun by the growth of London and being opened to the public. Applied to sporting fields in American English from 1867. New York's Park Avenue as an adjective meaning "luxurious and fashionable" (1956) was preceded in the same sense by London's Park Lane (1880). As a surname, Parker "keeper of a park" is attested in English from mid-12c. As a vehicle transmission gear, park (n.) is attested from 1949.
- park (v.)
- 1812, "to arrange military vehicles in a park," from park (n.) in a limited sense of "enclosure for military vehicles" (attested from 1680s). General non-military meaning "to put (a vehicle) in a certain place" is first recorded 1844. Related: Parked; parking. Park-and-ride is from 1966.
Example
- 1. A park is an excellent choice .
- 2. Sitting in the park with friends ?
- 3. They catch bugs in the park .
- 4. My favorite spot is central park .
- 5. No joshua tree national park ?