ˈpāvmənt, in rapid speech sometimes -ābm- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old French, from Latin pavimentum, from pavire to strike, stamp + -mentum -ment
1.
a. : a paved surface: as
(1) : the artificially covered surface of a public thoroughfare
stopped his car just off the pavement
(2) chiefly Britain : sidewalk
there were crowds on the pavements and roads everywhere — G.W.Talbot
(3) : a decorative interior floor of tiles or colored bricks
the tessellated pavement of the hall — G.B.Shaw
(4) : a factory floor paved with wood blocks, bricks, or concrete
b. : the material with which something is paved
concrete makes excellent pavement
2. : something that suggests a pavement (as in flatness, hardness, and extent of surface or in the formation and compact arrangement of its units)
a pavement -toothed shark
pavement cells
— see desert pavement