park

Etymology

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.

noun

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
      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… 1994, Robert Ferro, The Blue Star
   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.
   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 .... 1878, The San Francisco Western Lancet. a Journal of Practical Medicine and Surgery, volume 7, number 3
   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.... 1895, Whitman Cross, Richard Alexander Fullerton Penrose, Geology and Mining Industries of the Cripple Creek District, Colorado, page 54
   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 1897, The Colliery Engineer, volume 17, page 207
   ...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. 1911, Edward W. Harnden, “A Western Mountaineering Summer”, in Appalachia, volume XII, number 3
   The mountainous area is composed of hard, dense igneous and metamorphic rocks that yield only small quantities 1975, Frits Van der Leeden, Lawrence A. Cerrillo, David William Miller, Ground-water pollution problems in the Northwestern United States
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
      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." 2013-06-21, Chico Harlan, “Japan pockets the subsidy …”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 30
   4. An area on which a sporting match is played; (soccer) a pitch.
      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. December 28, 2010, Owen Phillips, “Sunderland 0-2 Blackpool”, in BBC
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 9ᵗʰ Ward and as luck would have it I found a park for my bro′s car right out the front.
   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. 2010, Sandy Curtis, Dangerous Deception, Australia: Clan Destine Press, unnumbered page
   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.

verb

1. (transitive) To bring (something such as a vehicle) to a halt or store in a specified place.
   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) To defer (a matter) until a later date.
   Let's park that until next week's meeting.
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.
5. (transitive, baseball) To hit a home run; to hit the ball out of the park.
   He really parked that one.
6. (intransitive, slang) 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.
   "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 […]" 1956, Grace Metalious, Peyton Place, page 199
   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. 1968, “People vs. Hawkins”, in Records & Briefs New York State Appellate Division, page 861
   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. 1996, Joseph Tropiano, Stanley Tucci, Big Night: A Novel with Recipes, page 37
   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, Tamyra Horst, Ratty Bathrobes, Cranky Kids, and Other Romantic Moments, page 47
   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. 2001, James Patterson, Violets Are Blue
   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 2008, Tim McLoughlin, Thomas Adcock, Brooklyn Noir 3: Nothing But the Truth
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.
   "Entertain M. Paul while I go and get my shoes. I parked 'em under a rosebush." 1930, Sax Rohmer, The Day the World Ended, published 1969, page vii. 59
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.