parterre
noun
[ pɑːˈtɛː ]
• a level space in a garden occupied by an ornamental arrangement of flower beds.
• "he was planting bulbs in the parterre for a spring display"
• the part of the ground floor of a theatre auditorium behind the orchestra pit, especially the part beneath the balconies.
Origin:
early 17th century: from French, from par terre ‘on the ground’.
