Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Lido

A lido in the UK and some other countries, refers to a public outdoor swimming pool and surrounding facilities, or part of a beach where people can swim, lie in the sun or participate in water sports.

On a cruise ship, outdoor pools and the surrounding facilities are referred to as the lido deck.

The term lido is the Italian word for beach and forms part of the place name of several Italian seaside towns known for their beach, e.g. Lido di Venezia, the barrier beach enclosing the Lagoon of Venice. Possibly the term found its way into English from returning English visitors to Lido di Venezia, where sea-bathing took place from the late 19th century. The word was first used for a public outdoor swimming pool in the United Kingdom in July 1935, in London.

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