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villa

villa

11 7.2
A large country house in ancient Rome that has rooms where people live and farm buildings around a courtyard
  • noun
  • /ˈvɪlə/
translation icon : villa romana
  • I unearthed a skull this afternoon on the site of what I suspect to be a Roman villa.
  • Roman villa
  • country villa

Examples

  • England: The remains of 40 infants from a group of 97 excavated from a Roman villa.

    Academic text (2010)
  • On your left is Hercules' villa.

  • Once a month, he would emerge from his villa to collect a pension at the post office sent from France.

    Academic text (2011)
  • We've taken a villa in Rome.

  • And this villa, with its treasures, its slaves, its gardens, will be yours.

  • Returning to our topic, villas were usually surrounded by carefully landscaped grounds.

  • Farther down the green slope, our excavation of a huge villa has already exposed forty-three rooms.

    Academic text (2004)
  • While vacationing in Italy, we rented a beautiful villa surrounded by vineyards.

  • The archaeologists discovered the remains of a Roman villa during their excavation.

  • During our tour of ancient Rome, the guide pointed out the impressive ruins of a once-grand villa.

Synonyms

mansion
vsvilla
327 3.4

A very large, impressive house often with many rooms and gardens

focuses on a functional ancient estate with farm buildings rather than luxury alone
country house
vsvilla
15 3.4

A large house in the countryside with its own land

is an ancient rural complex including living quarters and farm buildings around a courtyard
manor house
vsvilla
4 6.0

A large old country house once owned by a rich landowner

focuses on an ancient agricultural layout with living and farm buildings around a courtyard

How Big

palace
241 1.0
mansion
327 3.4
villa
11 7.2
house
1.0
cottage
171 1.0
hut
217 1.0

Surface Forms

villa singular
villas plural

Etymology

Villa comes from the Latin villa, which meant a 'country house' or 'farm' in ancient Rome. So a Roman villa was a home with living rooms and farm buildings around a courtyard, and that is why we still use villa for a country house today.