lanai

[David Bergdahl]

I was in SW Florida last week where my wife had a workshop on Marco Is; on a
rainy day we looked at open houses in new developments in Estero (bet. Ft
Meyers and Naples) and was struck by the new-to-me-term "lanai" for an
enclosed screened in porch which many of the houses had.  Ultimate origin is
the name of a Hawaiian island--DARE has "A roofed structure with open sides
built near or onto a house; a porch, veranda, or patio." It also notes that
it was introduced in Sun City FL by 1982 and unknown in cities that surround
it.  It obviously has spread since a google search reveals a Mississippi
house with one.  I would suppose only new houses in the more tropical parts
of the country would sport lanais.
________________________________
"Raffiniert ist der Herr Gott aber Boshaft ist er nicht"
--Albert Einstein