Editing Courtyard (section)

{{Short description|Enclosed area, often by a building, that is open to the sky}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Multiple image
| perrow            = 2/2|total_width=400
| image1            = Damascus courtyard of Umayyad Mosque from east portico 8065.jpg
| image2            = Residenz5, München.jpg
| image4            = Hôtel de Sully, cour intérieure.jpg
| image5            = Arkadenhof der Universität Wien-1201-Bearbeitet.jpg
| footer = Monumental courtyards from Damascus, Munich, Paris, and Vienna
}}

A '''courtyard''' or '''court''' is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a [[building]] or complex, that is open to the sky.

Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary architects as a typical and traditional building feature.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of the City|last=Caves|first=R. W.|publisher=Routledge|year=2004|pages=149}}</ref> Such spaces in [[inn]]s and public buildings were often the primary meeting places for some purposes, leading to the other meanings of [[Court (disambiguation)|court]]. Both of the words ''court'' and ''yard'' derive from the same root, meaning an enclosed space. See [[yard (land)|yard]] and [[garden]] for the relation of this set of words. In [[universities]] courtyards are often known as [[quadrangle (architecture)|quadrangles]].