Word of the Day

Friday, August 24, 2001

pied-a-terre

\pee-ay-duh-TAIR; pyay-dah-TAIR\ , noun;

A temporary or second place of lodging.

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Quotes:

And with Frank on the move so much of the time, shuttling between . . . offices and factories in Europe and Asia and South America, it made sense for her to establish some kind of pied-a-terre in New York.

-- Amanda Vaill, Everybody Was So Young

. . .gentlemen with estates in the country who wished to have a pied-a-terre in town.

-- Michael Ignatieff, Isaiah Berlin: A Life

Origin:

Pied-a-terre is from French, literally "foot to the ground."