window

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   An opening in a wall or vehicle, usually filled with glass, that lets in light and air.

   She opened the window to let some air in.

2. 2
   noun

   The glass front of a shop where goods are displayed.

   The new coat in the shop window caught my eye.

3. 3
   noun

   A limited period of time when something is possible.

   There is only a short window to apply for the grant.

4. 4
   noun

   Something that lets you see or understand something else.

   His diary offers a window into life a century ago.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Window entered Middle English from Old Norse vindauga, literally “wind eye.” It displaced Old English terms such as ēagthyrl, “eye hole,” and ēagduru, “eye door.” The computing sense, a framed area on a screen, is recorded from 1974.

From Middle English wyndowe, wyndown, from Old Norse vindauga (“window”, literally “wind-eye; wind-hole”), equivalent to wind + eye. Cognate with Scots windae and windock, Faroese vindeyga, Norwegian Bokmål vindu, Norwegian Nynorsk vindauge, Danish vindue, archaic Swedish vindöga, Elfdalian windog. Displaced native Old English ēagþȳrel (literally “eye hole”) (the rare direct descendant is eyethurl (“window, pupil, etc.”)). The “windows” among early Germanic peoples were just unglazed holes (eyes) in the wall or roof that permitted wind to pass through .

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary