Advertisement - Continue reading below

Definition of "parterre" [par•terre]

  • An ornamental flower garden having the beds and paths arranged to form a pattern. (noun)
  • See parquet circle. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "parterre" in a sentence
  • "From the middle of the parterre is a descent by many steps flying on each side of a grotto that lies between them (covered with lead and flat) into the lower garden, which is all fruit trees ranged about the several quarters of a wilderness, which is very shady; the walks here are all green, the grotto embellished with figures of shell rock work, fountains, and water works."
  • "But the word parterre, even the idea of a parterre, fit."
  • ""My dear Fleda! if my eyes cannot rest upon that development of elegance, the parterre is become a wilderness to me!""