threshold
nounUK /ˈθɹeʃəʊld/ · US /ˈθɹɛʃ(h)oʊld/
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, (originally) to tread”), 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”). Pronunciations such as “thresh-hold” are un-etymological and result from analogy with hold.
8 senses
- 1The lowermost part of a doorway that one crosses to…
- 2An entrance; the door or gate of a house.
- 3Any end or boundary.
- 4The outset of something; the point of entry, or the…
- 5The start of the landing area of a runway.
- 6The quantitative point at which an action is triggered…
- 7The wage or salary at which income tax becomes due.
- 8The point where one is mentally or physically vulnerable…
The lowermost part of a doorway that one crosses to enter; a sill.
Broadly An entrance; the door or gate of a house.
- Shy. You that did voide your rume vpon my beard, / And foote me as you ſpurne a ſtranger curre / Ouer your threſhold, […]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[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii], page 166:
Broadly Any end or boundary.
Figuratively The outset of something; the point of entry, or the beginning of an action.
- on the threshold of maturity
- 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
1 more example
- 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.1951 March, John W. Cline, “The Future of Medicine”, in Northwest Medicine, volume 50, number 3, Portland, Ore.: Northwest Medical Publishing Association, page 165:
Aeronautics, Aerospace, Aviation, Business, Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences The start of the landing area of a runway.
Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences 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
- lintel
- Derived terms
27 terms
bithreshold, infrathreshold, perithreshold, photothreshold, stereothreshold, subthreshold, superthreshold, suprathreshold, thresholded, thresholder, thresholding, thresholdless, thresholdlike, underthreshold, absolute threshold, cycle threshold, Darwinian threshold, displaced threshold, election threshold, epidemic threshold, Micawber threshold, pain threshold, threshold braking, threshold effect, threshold of originality, threshold potential, threshold worker