apartment

Definitions

Not a- + part directly, but borrowed through Italian appartare ('to set apart'). An appartamento was a set of rooms 'set apart' for one household inside a bigger building. So an apartment is your own section partitioned off from the whole — the root part (separate, divide) is still underneath.

Why It Means This

The surprise is the Italian detour. While British English prefers flat, American English uses apartment, but both descend from appartare, 'to separate.' The everyday word for 'where you live' literally records the idea of a space cut off from the larger building.

Common Collocations

• 1.apartment building公寓楼
• 2.rent an apartment租公寓
• 3.studio apartment单间公寓
• 4.apartment complex公寓小区

Example Sentences

• 1.

  They rented a small apartment near the university.

• 2.

  Her apartment is on the top floor with a great view.

• 3.

  We're looking for a two-bedroom apartment downtown.