park

From Middle English park, from Old French parc (“livestock pen”), from Medieval Latin parcus, parricus, from Frankish *parrik (“enclosure, pen, fence”). Cognate with Dutch perk (“enclosure; flowerbed”), Old High German pfarrih, pferrih (“enclosure, pen”), Old English pearroc (“enclosure”) (whence modern English paddock), Old Norse parrak, parak (“enclosure, pen; distress, anxiety”), Icelandic parraka (“to keep pent in, under restraint and coercion”). More at parrock, paddock.

• enPR: pärk, IPA^(key): /pɑɹk/
  • (General Australian, Boston, New Zealand) IPA^(key): [pʰäːk]

  • Audio (AU)

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  • (NYC) IPA^(key): [pʰɒək]
  • (Philippine) IPA^(key): [pɑɹk]
  • (UK) IPA^(key): [pʰɑːk]
  • (US) IPA^(key): [pʰɑɹk]
  • (Ghana) IPA^(key): /pɐk/

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)k

park (plural parks)

1. An area of land set aside for environment preservation or recreation.
   1. A tract of ground kept in its natural state, about or adjacent to a residence, such as for the preservation of game, for walking, riding, or the like.
      • 17th century, Edmund Waller, At Penshurst

        While in the park I sing, the listening deer / Attend my passion, and forget to fear.

   2. A piece of ground in or near a city or town, enclosed and kept for ornament and recreation.

      Hyde Park in London;  Central Park in New York

      • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXIII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

        If the afternoon was fine they strolled together in the park, very slowly, and with pauses to draw breath wherever the ground sloped upward. The slightest effort made the patient cough.

      • 1994, Robert Ferro, The Blue Star:

        I roamed the streets and parks, as far removed from the idea of art and pretense as I could take myself, discovering there the kind of truth I was supposed to be setting down on paper…

   3. An enclosed parcel of land stocked with animals for hunting, which one may have by prescription or royal grant.
2. (US) A wide, flat-bottomed valley in a mountainous region.
   • 1878, The San Francisco Western Lancet. a Journal of Practical Medicine and Surgery, volume 7, number 3:

     The mountain region thus limited consists of extensive and often level-floored valleys, sometimes many miles broad, and elevated 4,000 to 5,000 feet above the sea, called "parks" in local topography, which are interposed between innumerable rocky mountain ridges ....

   • 1895, Whitman Cross, Richard Alexander Fullerton Penrose, Geology and Mining Industries of the Cripple Creek District, Colorado‎, page 54:

     High Park is a depression of 10 or 12 square miles in extent […] at a general elevation of 7,500 feet. Its smooth floor is partly due to volcanic tuff of the western volcanic area, but chielfly to a find lake-bed deposit of yellowish sandstone....

   • 1897, The Colliery Engineer‎, volume 17, page 207:

     The so-called park is a very broad, open valley,between the Sangre de Cristo range on the east, and the volcanic San Juan and Conejos ranges on the west

   • 1911, Edward W. Harnden, “A Western Mountaineering Summer”, in Appalachia, volume XII, number 3:

     ...the ridges flatten and, higher up, before reaching the upper snow-fields of the mountain, broaden out into high plateaus, the beautiful so-called parks or meadows.

   • 1975, Frits Van der Leeden, Lawrence A. Cerrillo, David William Miller, Ground-water pollution problems in the Northwestern United States‎:

     Several structural basins, so-called "parks" within the crystalline rocks, are underlain by alluvial and terrace deposits, and in some cases, by Tertiary sediments.

3. An area used for specific purposes.
   1. An open space occupied by or reserved for vehicles, matériel or stores.

      a wagon park;   an artillery park

   2. A partially enclosed basin in which oysters are grown.
   3. An area zoned for a particular (industrial or commercial) purpose.

      business park;  industrial park;  science park

      • 2013 June 21, Chico Harlan, “Japan pockets the subsidy …”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 30:

        Across Japan, technology companies and private investors are racing to install devices that until recently they had little interest in: solar panels. Massive solar parks are popping up as part of a rapid build-up that one developer likened to an "explosion."

   4. An area on which a sporting match is played; (soccer) a pitch.
      • 2010 December 28, Owen Phillips, “Sunderland 0-2 Blackpool”, in BBC:

        But because of their dominance in the middle of the park and the sheer volume of chances, Sunderland boss Steve Bruce must have been staggered and sickened in equal measure when the visitors took the lead five minutes after the break.

4. (UK) An inventory of matériel.

   A country's tank park or artillery park.

5. (Australia, New Zealand, colloquial) A space in which to leave a car; a parking space.
   • 2003, “Johnny”, "Melbourne Blackout", in Sleazegrinder (editor), Gigs from Hell: True Stories from Rock and Roll′s Frontline, page 174,

     We got to the 9^th Ward and as luck would have it I found a park for my bro′s car right out the front.

   • 2010, Sandy Curtis, Dangerous Deception, Australia: Clan Destine Press, unnumbered page:

     Once they′d entered the floors of parking spaces, James found a park relatively easily, but Mark had difficulty, and only a swift sprint allowed him to catch up as James walked through the throngs of people in the casino with the determination of a man who didn′t want to be delayed.

   • 2011, Antonia Magee, The Property Diaries: A Story of Buying a House, Finding a Man and Making a Home … All on a Single Income!, John Wiley & Sons Australia, unnumbered page,

     We finally found a park and walked a few blocks to the building.

• (a piece of ground in or near a city): courtyard, garden, plaza

• (antonym(s) of “a piece of ground in or near a city”): building, skyscraper, street

• → Dhivehi: ޕާކު (pāku)
• → Georgian: პარკი (ṗarḳi)
• → Hindi: पार्क (pārk)
• → Irish: páirc
• → Japanese: パーク (pāku)
• → Scottish Gaelic: pàirc
• → Welsh: parc

park (third-person singular simple present parks, present participle parking, simple past and past participle parked)

1. (transitive) To bring (something such as a vehicle) to a halt or store in a specified place.

   Antonym: unpark

   You can park the car in front of the house.

   I parked the drive heads of my hard disk before travelling with my laptop.

2. (transitive, informal, figurative) To defer (a matter) until a later date.

   Let's park that until next week's meeting.

   • 2023 October 27, “Fantastic Beasts: JK Rowling franchise has been ‘parked’, director says”, in The Guardian‎, →ISSN:

     The Harry Potter spin-off prequel series Fantastic Beasts has been “parked” by Warner Bros, according to its director David Yates.

3. (transitive) To bring together in a park, or compact body.

   to park artillery, wagons, automobiles, etc.

4. (transitive) To enclose in a park, or as in a park.
   • 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     O, negligent and heedless discipline!
     How are we park'd and bounded in a pale,
     A little herd of England's timorous deer,
     Mazed with a yelping kennel of French curs!

5. (transitive, baseball) To hit a home run; to hit the ball out of the park.

   He really parked that one.

6. (intransitive, slang, US) To engage in romantic or sexual activities inside a nonmoving vehicle that was driven to a suitable spot for that purpose.

   They stopped at a romantic overlook, shut off the engine, and parked.

   • 1956, Grace Metalious, Peyton Place, page 199:

     "What did you do after that?" he asked. - "Went parking over at Silver Lake," replied Betty without hesitation. "Why?" - "I just wondered. Have fun?" "As a matter of fact, I did. Marty's a swell dancer." "That's not what I meant." "What did you mean?" - "I mean after. Parking." - "Yes I did […] "

   • 1968, “People vs. Hawkins”, in Records & Briefs New York State Appellate Division, page 861:

     A. Well, I had heard that it was used for parking place, but I never went parking there. Q. Excuse me? A. I had heard that it had been used for a parking place, but I had never gone parking there. Q. When you say “Parking place,” what do you mean? A. With a guy and a girl.

   • 1996, Joseph Tropiano, Stanley Tucci, Big Night: A Novel with Recipes, page 37:

     The Phyllis and me go "parking." This is a very American thing to me, this "parking,” but Phyllis says that this is what couples in this country do when they are dating. We can't go to her house because her parents are there which is okay with me. / We are parking on a quiet street and we get in the backseat of my car. We begin to kiss and I start to feel her body.

   • 2001, Tamyra Horst, Ratty Bathrobes, Cranky Kids, and Other Romantic Moments, page 47:

     Tim and I never went parking when we were dating, but now that we've been married, it's been a fun date once in a while. (OK, we never actually leave the driveway, but the car was still parked.)

   • 2001, James Patterson, Violets Are Blue:

     They were parking out near the hills. It's a popular spot for submarine races. They went for a little moonlit stroll. I'm sure they had nightmares after what they saw. Mary Alice was hanging from a tree by her bare feet. Naked.

   • 2008, Tim McLoughlin, Thomas Adcock, Brooklyn Noir 3: Nothing But the Truth:

     They had gone to see the Robert De Niro/Liza Minnelli flick, New York, New York, before driving back to Bensonhurst and parking on a quiet street. As they kissed, Berkowitz opened fire

7. (transitive, informal, sometimes reflexive) To sit, recline, or put, especially in a manner suggesting an intent to remain for some time.

   He came in and parked himself in our living room.

   Park your bags in the hall.

   • 1930, Sax Rohmer, The Day the World Ended, published 1969, page vii. 59:

     "Entertain M. Paul while I go and get my shoes. I parked 'em under a rosebush."

8. (transitive, finance) To invest money temporarily in an investment instrument considered to relatively free of risk, especially while awaiting other opportunities.

   We decided to park our money in a safe, stable, low-yield bond fund until market conditions improve.

9. (Internet) To register a domain name, but make no use of it (See domain parking)
10. (transitive, oyster culture) To enclose in a park, or partially enclosed basin.
11. (intransitive, dated) To promenade or drive in a park.
12. (intransitive, dated, of horses) To display style or gait on a park drive.

• “Park” in James F. Dunnigan and Albert Nofi (1992), Dirty Little Secrets: Military Information You're Not Supposed to Know, Harper, →ISBN, p 28.
• Park in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)
• Jonathon Green (2024) “park v.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang

• KPRA, Karp, Prak

From Dutch park, from Middle Dutch parc, from Old Dutch *parruk, from Proto-Germanic *parrukaz (“enclosure, fence”).

park (plural parke, diminutive parkie)

1. park

park ?

1. field

From Arabic بَرْق (barq).

park m

1. lightning

• Borg, Alexander (2004) A Comparative Glossary of Cypriot Maronite Arabic (Arabic–English) (Handbook of Oriental Studies; I.70), Leiden and Boston: Brill, page 156

• IPA^(key): [ˈpark]

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park m inan (related adjective parkový)

1. park

• park in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• park in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989
• park in Internetová jazyková příručka

From French parc.

• IPA^(key): /paːrk/, [pʰɑːɡ̊]

park c (singular definite parken, plural indefinite parker)

1. park

From Middle Dutch parc, from Old Dutch *parruk, from Proto-Germanic *parrukaz (“enclosure, fence”). Doublet of perk.

• IPA^(key): /pɑrk/

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• Hyphenation: park
• Rhymes: -ɑrk
• Homophone: Park

park n (plural parken, diminutive parkje n)

1. park

   We hebben een picknick in het park.

   We are having a picnic in the park.

   Het park was vol met mensen genietend van de zon.

   The park was filled with people enjoying the sun.

   Kinderen speelden in het park.

   Children were playing in the park.

• perk

• Afrikaans: park
• → German: Park (partially)
  • → Lower Sorbian: park
• → West Frisian: park

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɑrk/, [ˈpɑrkˑ]

park (genitive pargi, partitive parki)

1. park

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park

1. singular imperative of parken
2. (colloquial) first-person singular present of parken

• IPA^(key): [ˈpɒrk]
• Rhymes: -ɒrk

park (plural parkok)

1. park

• nemzeti park

• parkol

• park in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN

Borrowed from German Park, from Old French parc (“livestock pen”), from Medieval Latin parcus, parricus, from Frankish *parric (“enclosure, pen”), from Proto-Germanic *parrukaz (“enclosure, fence”).

• IPA^(key): /park/

park m inan

1. park (piece of ground, in or near a city or town, enclosed and kept for ornament and recreation)

• parkowy

• parc, parck, perke, paric

Borrowed from Old French parc, from Medieval Latin parricus (“enclosure”).

park (plural parks)

1. enclosure

• English: park
• Yola: park

• “park, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

From Medieval Latin parricus, via French parc.

park m (definite singular parken, indefinite plural parker, definite plural parkene)

1. a park (preserved green open space, usually open to the public)

From Medieval Latin parricus, via French parc.

park m (definite singular parken, indefinite plural parkar, definite plural parkane)

1. a park (as above)

• IPA^(key): /park/

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• Rhymes: -ark
• Syllabification: park

Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin parcus.

park m inan (related adjective parkowy)

1. park (ground for recreation in a city or town)

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

park m inan

1. (obsolete) scent released by goats, deer, or hares during breeding periods
2. (biology, obsolete) breeding period of goats, deer, or hares

• park in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• park in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• park in PWN's encyclopedia

• IPA^(key): /pârk/

pȁrk m (Cyrillic spelling па̏рк)

1. park

From Old Norse parrak, from Proto-Germanic *parrukaz.

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park c (plural parker, definite singular parken, definite plural parkerna)

1. park (in a city)

• karp

From Ottoman Turkish پارق (park), from French parc, from Middle French parc, from Old French parc, from Medieval Latin parcus, parricus (“enclosure”), from Frankish *parrik (“enclosure, fenced-in area”), from Proto-Germanic *parrukaz (“fence”).

• IPA^(key): /pɑɾk/

park (definite accusative parkı, plural parklar)

1. park

From Middle English park, from Old French parc, from Medieval Latin parricus (“enclosure”).

• IPA^(key): /pɔːk/

park

1. inclosure
   • 1867, GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY:

     Tollis Park, or Tullies Park.

     A place in the parish of Kilmanan, Bargy.

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867