threshold
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English
Etymology
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”), Norwegian terskel (“threshold”), Swedish tröskel (“threshold”), dialectal Swedish träskvald (“threshold”), Icelandic þröskuldur (“threshold”).
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈθɹɛʃ(h)əʊld/, (goat split)
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈθɹɛʃ(h)oʊld/
Audio (US): (file) - Rhymes: -əʊld
Noun
threshold (plural thresholds)
- The lowermost 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 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, , page 166:
- (by extension) Any end or boundary.
- (figurative) 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.'
- 1951 March, John W. Cline, “The Future of Medicine”, in Northwest Medicine, volume 50, number 3, Portland, Ore.: Northwest Medical Publishing Association, page 165:
- The first half of this century has been referred to as the golden age of medicine. To me it seems more probable that we are on the threshold of a much greater age.
- 1927-29, M.K. Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, translated 1940 by Mahadev Desai, Part I, Chapter xi:
- (aviation) 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 is mentally or physically vulnerable in response to a provocation or to other nuisances.
Antonyms
- (antonym(s) of “bottom-most part of a doorway”): lintel
Derived terms
multiword expressions
Translations
bottom-most part of a doorway
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entrance
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point at which an action is triggered
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income at which income tax becomes due
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outset of an action or project
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. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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