terrace, tarras, terass

[O. Fr.terrace; Fr. terra e a flat, a platform, a terrace, from Ital. terraccia, terrazza = a terrace, from terra (Latin terra )=earth; Sp. terraza.] I. Ordinary Language : 1. A raised level space or platform of earth, supported on one or more sides by masonry; a bank or platform of turf or the like, such as may be seen in gardens, where they are used for ornament, cultivation, or promenade. "In those tar ra es and pleasant walks."- North : Plu tarch, p. 446. 2. A balcony or open gallery. "The gunner being upon the terrace of the fort." -Hackluyt: Voyages , iii. 358. 3. The flat roof of a house, as in Oriental and Spanish houses. "As touching upon galleries and terraces, they were devised by the Greeks."-P. Holland: Pliny , bk. xxxvi. ch. xxv. 4. A street or row of houses running along the side of a slope; a row of houses generally; a street. II. Phys. Geog. & Geol .: A platform, often of soft material, flat above, and more or le steep on the sides. They often mark where the bed of the ocean or of a lake was succe ively situated during the intervals between elevatory movements.