Word of the Day

Thursday, December 01, 2005

alfresco

\al-FRES-koh\ , adverb;

In the open air; outdoors.

adjective:

Taking place or located in the open air; outdoor.

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Quotes:

Turner escaped from the entangled politics of London's art world, where the Royal Academy was marooned in petty disputes, to paint alfresco on the riverbanks.

-- Siri Huntoon, "Down by the Riverside", New York Times, November 7, 1993

Outdoor sitting areas all have LAN connections, so that employees can work alfresco.

-- Scott Kirsner, "Digital Competition - Laurie A. Tucker", Fast Company, December 1999

I sailed past alfresco cafes filled with young people reading the paper, past restaurants doing a thriving brunch business, and ended up dropping down a fairly steep hill to the water yet again, on an obscure street that ended near a big factory.

-- Gary Kamiya, "An ode to Sydney", Salon, September 27, 2000

Origin:

Alfresco is from the Italian al fresco, "in the fresh (air)," from al, "in the" (a, "to, in" + il, "the") + fresco, "fresh."