MALL
plaza, mall, center, shopping mall, shopping center, shopping centre
(noun) mercantile establishment consisting of a carefully landscaped complex of shops representing leading merchandisers; usually includes restaurants and a convenient parking area; a modern version of the traditional marketplace; “a good plaza should have a movie house”; “they spent their weekends at the local malls”
promenade, mall
(noun) a public area set aside as a pedestrian walk
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
mall (countable and uncountable, plural malls)
(chiefly, North America, Australia, New Zealand) A pedestrianised street, especially a shopping precinct. [from 20th c.]
An enclosed shopping centre. [from 20th c.]
(obsolete) An alley where the game of pall mall was played. [17th-19th c.]
A public walk; a level shaded walk, a promenade. [from 18th c.]
A heavy wooden mallet or hammer used in the game of pall mall. [from 17th c.]
(obsolete) The game of polo. [17th c.]
(obsolete) An old game played with malls or mallets and balls; pall mall. [17th-19th c.]
Verb
mall (third-person singular simple present malls, present participle malling, simple past and past participle malled)
to beat with a mall, or mallet; to beat with something heavy; to bruise
to build up with the development of shopping malls
(informal) to shop at the mall
Source: Wiktionary
Mall, n. [Written also maul.] Etym: [OE. malle, F. mail, L. malleus.
Cf. Malleus.]
1. A large heavy wooden beetle; a mallet for driving anything with
force; a maul. Addison.
2. A heavy blow. [Obs.] Spenser.
3. An old game played with malls or mallets and balls. See Pall-mall.
Cotton.
4. A place where the game of mall was played. Hence: A public walk; a
level shaded walk.
Part of the area was laid out in gravel walks, and planted with elms;
and these convenient and frequented walks obtained the name of the
City Mall. Southey.
Mall, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Malled; p. pr. & vb. n. Malling.] Etym:
[Cf. OF. mailler. See Mall beetle, and cf. Malleate.]
Definition: To beat with a mall; to beat with something heavy; to bruise;
to maul.
Mall, n. Etym: [LL. mallum a public assembly; cf. OHG. mahal
assembly, transaction; akin to AS. mæ, me, assembly, m to speak,
Goth. mapl market place.]
Definition: Formerly, among Teutonic nations, a meeting of the notables of
a state for the transaction of public business, such meeting being a
modification of the ancient popular assembly. Hence:
(a) A court of justice.
(b) A place where justice is administered.
(c) A place where public meetings are held.
Councils, which had been as frequent as diets or malls, ceased.
Milman.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition