Villa Meaning

/ˈvɪlə/
B1

Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

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nounA house, often larger and more expensive than average, in the countryside or on the coast, often used as a retreat.

nounA family house, often semi-detached in Victorian or Edwardian style, in a middle class street.

The villa was harmonious with the scenery.
Who owns this villa?
His villa on the hill commands the sea.
CEFR Practice Quiz
After winning the lottery, the family bought a luxurious ____ with a swimming pool and garden.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
They decided to rent a beautiful ____ on the coast of Italy for their summer holiday this year to relax today.

Borrowed from Italian villa, from Latin vīlla (“country house”). Doublet of vill and ville.

"This villa was long and low and white, and severe after its manner : for upon and about it were none of those playful ebullitions of taste, such as conical towers, domed roofs, embattlements, statues, coloured tiles and crenellations, such as are dear to architects of villas all the world over." — 1922, Michael Arlen, “3/6/1”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days:
"They were just ordinary suburban children, and they lived with their Father and Mother in an ordinary red-brick-fronted villa, with coloured glass in the front door, a tiled passage that was called a hall, a bath-room with hot and cold water, electric bells, French windows, and a good deal of white paint, and 'every modern convenience', as the house-agents say." — 1905, E. Nesbit, chapter 1, in The Railway Children, page 1:
"Olsson and Herd tussled off the ball at a free-kick before Olsson fell to the ground. Assistant referee Darren Cann signalled for a penalty and Dowd sent Herd off to the amazement of the Villa faithful." — 2011 October 22, Sam Sheringham, “Aston Villa 1 - 2 West Brom”, in BBC Sport:

Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words

CEFR Practice Quiz
After winning the lottery, the family bought a luxurious ____ with a swimming pool and garden.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
They decided to rent a beautiful ____ on the coast of Italy for their summer holiday this year to relax today.

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