plaza
/ˈplɑːzə/·플라자·noun
a public open space in a town or city
FrenchCEFR B1
Root
Spanish 'plaza' (open space), from Latin 'platea' (broad street) ← Greek 'plateia' (broad)
Greek plateia (broad, broad street) → Latin platea → Spanish plaza · Italian piazza · French place → English plaza (17th c., via Spanish)
In a word
Greek plateia ('broad') → Latin platea ('broad street') — one root scattered across European cities — Spain: plaza Italy: piazza France: place English: place (a spot, a location) and then plaza, borrowed again from Spanish. On the single spot of a town square, the Greek 'broad' arrives, via Rome, in four sister words at once. The reason English calls a wide public square a "plaza" and not just a "place" is that the word took an extra Spanish detour.
Examples
The plaza was full of people.
They met at the central plaza.
A shopping plaza opened nearby.
Related
piazzaplaceplatformplateauflat