patte d'oien.
/ˌpat ˈdwɑː/, U.S. /ˌpɑt ˈdwɑ/ A number of avenues, roads, paths, etc. (usually three or five) diverging from a common point. Cf. goose-foot n. 2.
ΚΠ
1806 H. Repton Enq. Changes of Taste Landscape Gardening i. 18 Shady walks..were cut through in straight lines and vistas, and in the forms of stars and pates d'oïes which prevailed at the beginning of the last century.
1826 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Gardening (ed. 4) i. i. iii. 45 The Tiergarten at Berlin..is a sort of public park or promenade, on a flat surface,..intersected by avenues and alleys, pierced by stars and pates d'oye, varied by obelisks and statues.
1901 R. Blomfield Formal Garden in Eng. vii. 164 (note) The ‘goose-foot’, patte-d'oie, consisted of three avenues radiating from a small semicircle.
1913 H. I. Triggs Garden Craft in Europe v. 90 At the same time the great esplanade was constructed, long avenues were cut through the park with pattes d'oie, or goose feet, very characteristic of the formal gardens of the day.
1969 R. Thomlinson Urban Structure xi. 209 The diagonal boulevards..permitted the growth of triangular lots and the baroque patte d'oie (‘goose-foot’) intersections that still confuse motorists.
1988 Daily Tel. 9 Jan. (Weekend Suppl.) p. ix/4 The opening of each of the three paths that go to make the patte d'oie leading down into what was known until Hurricane Friday as the ‘wood’.
2000 Building Design 30 June 16 The herb garden..is a witty and modern version of an 18th century patte d'oie.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, June 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1806