threshold
/ˈθrɛʃˌhoʊld/
noun
Origin
Old English
þerscold — a piece of wood for threshing; a door-sill
Overview
Meaning Now
- a strip of wood or stone forming the bottom of a doorway and crossed in entering a house or room.
- the magnitude or intensity that must be exceeded for a certain reaction, phenomenon, result, or condition to occur or be manifested.
- the beginning or initial stage of an entry point into a new state or experience.
Literal older meaning
the piece of wood used for threshing corn
Language path
Proto-Germanic → Old English → English
Earliest form
þrescold
Earliest period
Old English period
Journey
The word originally referred to the place where grain was threshed by treading it underfoot. Because this happened near the entrance of a barn, the term was applied to the entrance of a building or room.
Evolution
- Proto-Germanic
*þreskw-
“to thresh or tread”
Base of the threshing action
- Old English
þrescold
“door-sill”
Compound of 'thresh' (to tread) and 'hold' (a piece of wood)
- Middle English
threshold
“doorway or entrance”
Metathesis of 'r' common in early versions
Connections
Word parts
thresh
root
to tread or trample
hold
suffix
piece of wood or base
Related across languages
Old Norse
þreskoldr
door-sill
German
Schwelle
sill or threshold
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Related to threshold
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.