Palace of Versailles
1
6.1
- proper noun
- /ˈpælɪs əv vɛrˈsaɪ/
:
Palacio de Versalles
- The grand architecture of the Palace of Versailles attracts millions of visitors each year.
Examples
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Eventually, the palace of Versailles fell in the French Revolution.
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And his palace was the Palace of Versailles.
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There were no toilets in the Palace of Versailles.
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During her visit to France, she was amazed by the beauty of the Palace of Versailles and its stunning gardens.
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The Palace of Versailles, built in the 17th century, was the lavish residence of King Louis XIV.
Synonyms
4
6.8
A large royal palace near Paris built in the 1600s with grand rooms and gardens
Surface Forms
Morphology
palace + of + Versailles
The meaning is directly compositional: 'palace' (large royal house) combined with the place name 'Versailles' and the preposition 'of' yields 'the palace at/in Versailles.' This possessive/location construction is cross-linguistically common and immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows the constituent words and recognizes Versailles as a place name.
Etymology
Palace of Versailles began as a small hunting house that King Louis XIV turned into a huge, showy royal home with very long gardens and the famous Hall of Mirrors to show his power. That's why the name today refers to the large palace built in the 1600s and to its important place in French history.