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parvis

noun
par·​vis | \ ˈpär-vəs How to pronounce parvis (audio) \
variants: or less commonly parvise

Definition of parvis

1 : a court or enclosed space before a building (such as a church)
2 : a single portico or colonnade before a church

Examples of parvis in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

 The western façade, giving onto the parvis, the open area before the cathedral, was not completed until around 1240, and the upper gallery of the nave and the two towers on the west façade were finished between 1225 and 1250. — Klara Glowczewska, Town & Country, "Notre Dame Cathedral Will Never Be the Same—and That's Ok," 19 Apr. 2019

First Known Use of parvis

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for parvis

Middle English parvis, from Anglo-French, modification of Late Latin paradisus enclosed park — more at paradise

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