Mezzanine

//ˈmɛzəˌnin// adj, noun, verb

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Characteristic of or relating to high-interest loans which have no collateral, and are regarded as intermediate in nature, ranking above equity but below secured loans. not-comparable

    "This new vehicle funded the purchases of these tranches by issuing fixed-income interests to investors who were seeking high returns and who were willing to believe that by repackaging mezzanine tranches in MBS structures, some tranches could be designated as safe enough to obtain a AAA or AA rating."

  2. 2
    Fulfilling an intermediate or secondary function. not-comparable

    "To make interconnections easier, we added a mezzanine PCB."

Noun
  1. 1
    An intermediate floor or storey in between the main floors of a building; specifically, one that is directly above the ground floor which does not extend over the whole floorspace of the building, and so resembles a large balcony overlooking the ground floor; an entresol.

    "On our way to the top floor, we stopped at the mezzanine."

  2. 2
    intermediate floor just above the ground floor wordnet
  3. 3
    An apartment, room, etc., on such an intermediate floor. broadly
  4. 4
    first or lowest balcony wordnet
  5. 5
    The lowest balcony in an auditorium, cinema, theatre, etc.; the dress circle. Canada, US
Show 3 more definitions
  1. 6
    Additional flooring laid over a floor to bring it up to some height or level. obsolete
  2. 7
    In full mezzanine window: a small window at the height of a mezzanine floor (sense 1.1) or an attic, used to light these floors. obsolete
  3. 8
    A floor under the stage, from which contrivances such as traps are worked. obsolete
Verb
  1. 1
    To fit (a building or other place) with a mezzanine floor. transitive

Etymology

Etymology 1

PIE word *médʰyos The noun is borrowed from French mezzanine, and from its etymon Italian mezzanino, from mezzano (“(adjective) middle; (noun) go-between”) + -ino (diminutive suffix). Mezzano is derived from Latin mediānus (“central, middle”, adjective), from medius (“mid, middle”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos (“middle”)) + -ānus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’). The adjective and verb are derived from the noun.

Etymology 2

PIE word *médʰyos The noun is borrowed from French mezzanine, and from its etymon Italian mezzanino, from mezzano (“(adjective) middle; (noun) go-between”) + -ino (diminutive suffix). Mezzano is derived from Latin mediānus (“central, middle”, adjective), from medius (“mid, middle”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos (“middle”)) + -ānus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’). The adjective and verb are derived from the noun.

Etymology 3

PIE word *médʰyos The noun is borrowed from French mezzanine, and from its etymon Italian mezzanino, from mezzano (“(adjective) middle; (noun) go-between”) + -ino (diminutive suffix). Mezzano is derived from Latin mediānus (“central, middle”, adjective), from medius (“mid, middle”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos (“middle”)) + -ānus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’). The adjective and verb are derived from the noun.

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