park

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A public area of grass and trees in a town where people relax and play.

   They went for a walk in the park after lunch.

2. 2
   verb

   To leave a vehicle in a particular place for a time.

   He parked the car in front of the house.

3. 3
   noun

   A large area of land kept in its natural state and protected for the public.

   There are strict laws that protect the wildlife in the national park.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Park came into Middle English from Old French parc, from medieval Latin parricus, and is probably Germanic in origin. It first referred to enclosed land held by royal grant for keeping game. A later military sense, ‘an area for artillery, wagons, and stores’, gave rise in the mid-19th century to the verb meaning ‘leave a vehicle in a place’.

From Middle English park, from Old French parc (“livestock pen”), from Medieval Latin parcus, parricus, from Frankish *parrik (“enclosure, pen, fence”). Cognate with Dutch perk (“enclosure; flowerbed”), Old High German pfarrih, pferrih (“enclosure, pen”), Old English pearroc (“enclosure”) (whence modern English paddock), Old Norse parrak, parak (“enclosure, pen; distress, anxiety”), Icelandic parraka (“to keep pent in under restraint and coercion”). More at parrock, paddock.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary