patio

[Steve K.]

On Thu, 15 Jun 2000 Mark_Mandel at DRAGONSYS.COM wrote:

> /ae/ is the only way I've EVER heard it. We had one when I was a kid (NYC
> suburbs, 50s). Is the /a/-as-in-father pron from Spanish?

The etymology is via Spanish, so I'd assume so.

I think what could have possibly have happened, and I freely admit this is
only armchair speculation without a single whit of research, is that prior
to WWII, patios were not all that common, and with the rise of suburbia,
postwar, they became far more common. Perhaps pre-war there was some
connection to life in the villa or something, and postwar when you bought
a new tract house it was something that came with. If I were looking into
it further, that's the track I'd start on.

--- Steve K.