milieu

C2 Topic:People & Society

US /mɪlˈju/ UK /ˈmiːljɜː/ See IPA manual

Freq #41239

Meanings

1

noun
The social setting or surroundings in which someone lives or works.

She felt out of place in the wealthy milieu of her new colleagues.
2

noun
A group of people who share a common outlook or background.

He grew up in an artistic milieu of painters and writers.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the social setting or... surroundings

Word family

Forms milieusmilieux

Derived forms micromilieu

Etymology

PIE word *me Borrowed from French milieu (“physical or social environment; group of people with a common point of view”), from Middle French milieu, meilleu, mileu, from Old French milliu, meillieu, mileu (“middle”), from mi- (prefix meaning ‘half’) (from Latin medius (“half; middle”)) + lieu, leu (“place”) (from Latin locus (“place; spot (specific location)”)).

*stel- Proto-Indo-European milieu Middle French milliu Old French medius Latin locus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# milieu

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /mɪlˈju/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈmiːljɜː/
**Frequency rank:** 41239

## Meanings
1. The social setting or surroundings in which someone lives or works.
2. A group of people who share a common outlook or background.

## Examples
- She felt out of place in the wealthy milieu of her new colleagues.
- He grew up in an artistic milieu of painters and writers.

## Derived Forms
- micromilieu

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *stel-
- Root: milieu
- Root: milliu
- Root: medius
- Root: locus

## Etymology
PIE word *me Borrowed from French milieu (“physical or social environment; group of people with a common point of view”), from Middle French milieu, meilleu, mileu, from Old French milliu, meillieu, mileu (“middle”), from mi- (prefix meaning ‘half’) (from Latin medius (“half; middle”)) + lieu, leu (“place”) (from Latin locus (“place; spot (specific location)”)).

## AI Etymology
Milieu is borrowed from French milieu (“physical or social environment; group of people with a common point of view”), from Middle French milieu, meilleu, mileu, from Old French milliu, meillieu, mileu (“middle”), from mi- (prefix meaning ‘half’) (from Latin medius (“half; middle”)) + lieu, leu (“place”) (from Latin locus (“place; spot (specific location)”)). The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern nominal form is built from the named base and affix. Important recorded forms include *stel- (Proto-Indo-European), milieu (Middle French), milliu (Old French), medius (Latin), and locus (Latin). Current senses include the social setting or surroundings in which someone lives or works and a group of people who share a common outlook or background. The wider family includes derived forms such as micromilieu.

## Topics
- People & Society

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