square n
1 In street names of St John's, Harbour Grace, etc, a short, wide residential street, sometimes blocked at the end.
[1864] 1965 Am Speech xl, p. 166 British Square, Brennan's Square, Dick's Square, Lyons Square. [1871] 1930 BARNES 28-9 My grandfather, 'Old Captain Tom Allen'. . made money hand over hand and my grandmother put the money in land and houses... However, when my grandfather died my grandmother had a great big estate, it was called 'Allen's Square.' This was quite a large place with houses all around it. A big hill went down from that square; they used to call it 'Allen's Hill.' [1900 OLIVER & BURKE] 22 He made tracks down the square double quick. 1936 DEVINE 107 After conducting a temporary office in the British Square grounds and on the King's Beach, the plant later passed to Andrew Wright. 1979 TIZZARD 357 After trying unsuccessfully for a boarding house for some time in the afternoon we did get accommodation at 9 Brazil Square.
2 A lot, field; a kin-group house cluster around an ancestral farmstead.
1974 MANNION 51-2 The only evidence of an orderly arrangement of houses is in Branch and, in one or two cases, in St Brides, where dwellings were disposed linearly or grouped compactly around an open space. It is difficult to say if the word 'square' originally referred to the lay-out pattern of the kin-group clusters in these settlements... In the settlements near St John's the word 'square' is used to designate a piece of land, e.g. 'a fine "square" of land' or 'a "square" of potatoes.'
3 Sweet baked delicacy, often made into two inch square pieces.
[1894 BURKE] 78 Now I'm going to bring in a tart on a plate, I'll give a square to Ethel, a square to Maud ... and a square to Arthur. 1958 Nfld Dishes 42 Raisin Squares, Date Squares [etc].
