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Definition of plaza - 5 dictionary results

pla⋅za

  [plah-zuh, plaz-uh]
Use plaza in a Sentence
–noun
1. a public square or open space in a city or town.
2. shopping plaza.
3. an area along an expressway where public facilities, as service stations and rest rooms, are available.
Origin:
1675–85; < Sp < L platea street < Gk plateîa broad street. See place

shopping plaza

 
–noun
a complex of stores, banks, movie theaters, etc.; shopping center.
Also called plaza.

Origin:
1955–60
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pla·za   (plä'zə, plāz'ə)   
n.  
  1. A public square or similar open area in a town or city.
    1. A widened roadway forming the approach to tollbooths on a highway.
    2. A parking or service area next to a highway.
  3. A shopping center.

[Spanish, from Vulgar Latin *plattea, from Latin platea, broad street; see place.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Plaza

Pla"za\, n. [Sp. See Place.] A public square in a city or town.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : plaza
Spanish: plaza,
German: der Platz,
Japanese: 広場
More Translations »

plaza 
1683, from Sp. plaza "square, place," from V.L. *plattia, from L. platea "courtyard, broad street" (see place (n.)).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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