terrace

I. noun Etymology: Middle French, platform, terrace, from Old French, from Old Occitan terrassa, from terra earth, from Latin, earth, land; akin to Latin torrēre to parch — more at thirst Date: 1515 1. a. a colonnaded porch or promenade b. a flat roof or open platform c. a relatively level paved or planted area adjoining a building 2. a. a raised embankment with the top leveled b. one of usually a series of horizontal ridges made in a hillside to increase cultivatable land, conserve moisture, or minimize erosion 3. a level ordinarily narrow plain usually with steep front bordering a river, lake, or sea; also a similar undersea feature 4. a. a row of houses or apartments on raised ground or a sloping site b. a group of row houses c. a strip of park in the middle of a street often planted with trees or shrubs d. street 5. a section of a British soccer stadium set aside for standing spectators II. transitive verb (terraced; terracing) Date: 1650 1. to provide (as a building or hillside) with a terrace 2. to make into a terrace