threshold

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the starting point for a new state or experience

   on the threshold of manhood

2. 2
   noun

   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, […]

3. 3
   noun

   The outset of something; the point of entry, or the beginning of an action.

   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.'

4. 4
   noun

   the sill of a door

5. 5
   noun

   the entrance (the space in a wall) through which you enter or leave a room or building

6. 6
   noun

   the smallest detectable sensation

7. 7
   noun

   a region marking a boundary

8. 8
   noun

   The lowermost part of a doorway that one crosses to enter; a sill.

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”). Pron…