terracing

noun

1. 1. a raised, flat mound of earth with sloping sides
   2. any of a series of flat platforms of earth with sloping sides, rising one above the other, as on a hillside
   3. a geologic formation of this nature
2. an unroofed, paved area, immediately adjacent to a house, etc. and usually overlooking a lawn or garden
3. 1. a gallery, portico, or colonnade
   2. a usually spacious veranda; piazza
4. a small, usually roofed balcony, as outside an apartment
5. a flat roof, esp. of a house of Spanish or Middle Eastern architecture
6. 1. a line of houses, esp. of row houses, on ground raised from the street
   2. a street in front of such houses: often used in street names
7. ☆ a parklike strip in the middle of a boulevard, etc.

Origin: OFr, walled platform, orig., mound of earth < It terrazzo < terra < L, terra

transitive verb terraced, terracing