The Spanish word 'patio' meaning 'courtyard' has an interesting journey through Latin and Romance languages. It starts with the Latin verb 'pascere' meaning 'to graze or feed', which gave rise to 'pastus' meaning 'pasture or feeding'. This evolved into Old French 'pâtis' meaning 'pasture', which then developed into Medieval Latin 'patium' meaning 'enclosed space'. The word then passed through Occitan 'pati' meaning 'courtyard' before finally becoming Spanish 'patio'.

The semantic evolution from 'grazing land' to 'courtyard' makes sense when you consider that both concepts involve an open, enclosed space - though the agricultural connection was eventually lost as the word came to specifically refer to an architectural feature.

While 'patio' itself is a common Spanish word, it has become somewhat isolated in modern Spanish, without many commonly used related words. However, you might encounter 'patiecito' or 'patiezuelo', which are diminutive forms meaning 'small patio'.

The English word 'patio' is actually borrowed directly from Spanish and retains the same meaning. However, there are some more distant English relatives through the Latin root 'pascere' (to graze), including 'pasture', 'pastor' (originally meaning 'shepherd'), and 'pastoral'. While these words maintained their connection to the original meaning of grazing and feeding, 'patio' evolved to describe an architectural feature instead.