A Patio in Spain Is an Inner Courtyard
A patio is a paved outdoor area. In Spanish it means an enclosed courtyard inside a building, which is not what English borrowed.
A patio is a paved area beside a house, used for sitting outdoors. The Spanish original means something different: a *patio* is an enclosed inner courtyard, open to the sky but surrounded by the building, a design inherited from Roman and Moorish architecture. English took the word and applied it to an open terrace, which a Spanish speaker would not call a patio at all. The Roman equivalent was the *atrium*, and the courtyard house is one of the oldest domestic forms.
- A paved outdoor area. *A garden patio.*
- An inner courtyard (Spanish). *A Córdoba patio.*
- Terrace — a British near-equivalent. *A terrace.*
- Atrium — the Roman courtyard. *An atrium.*
- Patio doors — glazed doors to a patio. *Patio doors.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | patio | A patio. |
| Plural | patios | Two patios. |
| Compound | patio doors | Patio doors. |
| Spanish | patio | A courtyard. |
| Related | atrium | An atrium. |
- They laid a new patio.English sense.
- The house is built around a patio.Spanish sense.
- Córdoba holds a patio festival each May.Tradition.
Courtyard houses across cultures
- Roman atrium — a central open hall collecting rainwater
- Spanish patio — inherited from Roman and Moorish design
- Chinese siheyuan — four buildings around a square yard
- Middle Eastern courtyard house — shaded and private
- All solve the same problems of light, air and privacy
Spanish *patio*, an inner courtyard, of uncertain origin. English adopted it in the 1800s for an outdoor paved area.
Is an English patio the same as a Spanish one?
No. A Spanish patio is an enclosed inner courtyard. English uses the word for an open paved area beside a house.
What is the Roman equivalent?
The atrium, a central open hall that let in light and collected rainwater.