Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Rez-de-chauss'ee \Rez`-de-chaus`s['e]e"\, n. [F., lit., level of
   the street. See {Raze}, v. t., and {Causey}.] (Arch.)
   The ground story of a building, either on a level with the
   street or raised slightly above it; -- said esp. of buildings
   on the continent of Europe.

         Tier above tier of neat apartments rise over the little
         shops which form the rez-de-chauss['e]e. --The Century.