threshold
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English threschwolde, threscholde, from Old English þresċold, þerxold, þrexwold (“doorsill, entryway”), from Proto-Germanic *þreskudlaz, *þreskūþlijaz, *þreskwaþluz, from Proto-Germanic *þreskaną, *þreskwaną (“to thresh”), from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (“to rub, turn”). Cognate with Low German Drüssel (“threshold”), dialectal German Drischaufel, Drissufle, Trüschübel (“threshold”), Danish tærskel (“threshold”), Swedish tröskel (“threshold”), dialectal Swedish träskvald (“threshold”), Icelandic þröskuldur (“threshold”).
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
threshold (plural thresholds)
- The bottom-most part of a doorway that one crosses to enter; a sill.
- (by extension) An entrance; the door or gate of a house.
- c. 1596–1598, William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene iii], page 166:
- (by extension) Any end or boundary.
- (figuratively) The outset of something; the point of entry, or the beginning of an action.
- 1927-29, M.K. Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, translated 1940 by Mahadev Desai, Part I, Chapter xi:
- I arrived at last, did obeisance to my uncle, and told him everything. He thought it over and said: ' […] At the threshold of death, how dare I give you permission to go to England, to cross the seas? But I will not stand in your way. It is your mother's permission which really matters. If she permit you, then godspeed! Tell her I will not interfere. You will go with my blessings.'
- 1927-29, M.K. Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, translated 1940 by Mahadev Desai, Part I, Chapter xi:
- The start of the landing area of a runway.
- (engineering) The quantitative point at which an action is triggered, especially a lower limit.
- The wage or salary at which income tax becomes due.
- The point where one mentally or physically is vulnerable in response to provocation or to particular things in general. As in emotions, stress, or pain.
Derived terms[edit]
(Expressions:)
Antonyms[edit]
- (bottom-most part of a doorway): lintel
Translations[edit]
bottom-most part of a doorway
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entrance
point at which an action is triggered
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income at which income tax becomes due
outset of an action or project
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point where one mentally or physically is vulnerable in response to provocation or to particular things in general
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
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- en:Engineering