Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Definition of patio - 3 dictionary results

pat⋅i⋅o

[pat-ee-oh, pah-tee-oh]
–noun, plural -i⋅os.
1. an area, usually paved, adjoining a house and used as an area for outdoor lounging, dining, etc.
2. a courtyard, esp. of a house, enclosed by low buildings or walls.

Origin:
1820–30, Americanism; < Sp, OSp: courtyard, perh. orig. open area; cf. ML patium meadow, pasturage, perh. deriv. of L *patitus, ptp. of patēre to lie open. See patent
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To patio
pat·i·o   (pāt'ē-ō', pä'tē-ō')   
n.   pl. pat·i·os
  1. An outdoor space for dining or recreation that adjoins a residence and is often paved.

  2. A roofless inner courtyard, typically found in Spanish and Spanish-style dwellings.


[Spanish, from Old Spanish, possibly from Old Provençal patu, pati, pasture, perhaps from Latin pactum, agreement; see pact.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

patio 
1828, "inner court open to the sky," from Sp. patio probably from O.Prov. patu, pati "untilled land, communal pasture," from L. pactum "agreement" (see pact). Another theory traces the Sp. word to L. patere "to lie open." Meaning "paved and enclosed terrace beside a building" first recorded 1941. Patio furniture is attested from 1969.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see patio on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us: