Parking Once Meant Putting Guns in a Field
Parking is leaving a vehicle stationary. The verb comes from park, an enclosed piece of land, by way of artillery.
Parking is leaving a vehicle standing. The verb came from the noun *park*, an enclosed piece of ground, through military use: to park artillery was to gather guns and wagons in a fenced field. When cars arrived they were parked the same way, and the word stayed.
- Leaving a vehicle stationary. *No parking.*
- Space for vehicles. *Free parking.*
- To postpone an issue. *Let us park that for now.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | parking | Street parking. |
| Verb | park | Park behind the shop. |
| Past | parked | Badly parked. |
| Compound | car park | The multi-storey car park. |
| American | parking lot | A parking lot. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Parking is free after six.Uncountable.
- We can park that question until Monday.Business jargon, but useful.
- The car park was full.British; Americans say parking lot or garage.
Parking words
- Car park / parking lot — the area, British and American
- Multi-storey / parking garage — the covered version
- Parallel parking — alongside the kerb, and the hardest to teach
- Residents' permit — allows parking in a controlled zone
- Clamping — immobilising a vehicle, restricted in some countries
From *park*, from Old French *parc*, an enclosure, ultimately from a Germanic word. The verb is nineteenth-century military and became civilian with the motor car.
Why do we *park* a car?
From the practice of parking artillery: gathering guns and vehicles into an enclosed field. Cars inherited the verb.
Car park or parking lot?
Car park in British English, parking lot in American. A multi-storey is a parking garage in the United States.