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.

Common collocations

• open window Adjective + noun
• close a window Verb + noun
• open a window Verb + noun
• broken window Adjective + noun
• break a window Verb + noun
• clean a window Verb + noun
• bay window Adjective + noun
• stained-glass window Adjective + noun

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 .

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