window
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈwɪndəʊ/
enpr: wĭnʹdō
ipa: /ˈwɪndoʊ/
note: colloquial, folk speech, nonstandard
enpr: wĭnʹdə
ipa: /ˈwɪndə/
note: colloquial, folk speech, nonstandard
rhymes: -ɪndəʊ
Forms: form: windows
Etymology: 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 .
Senses: examples: text: She opened the window to let some air in.
text: But then I had the [massive] flintlock by me for protection. ¶[…]The linen-press and a chest on the top of it formed, however, a very good gun-carriage; and, thus mounted, aim could be taken out of the window at the old mare feeding in the meadow below by the brook, and a 'bead' could be drawn upon Molly, the dairymaid, kissing the fogger behind the hedge,[…].
ref: 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:
text: A window is an opening in a wall to admit light and air.
ref: 1952, L. F. Salzman, Building in England, page 173:
text: Nanny Broome was looking up at the outer wall. Just under the ceiling there were three lunette windows, heavily barred and blacked out in the normal way by centuries of grime.
ref: 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 14, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
glosses: An opening, usually covered by one or more panes of clear glass, to allow light and air from outside to enter a building or vehicle.
examples: text: There is an hour or two, after the passengers have embarked, which is disquieting and fussy.[…]Passengers wander restlessly about or hurry, with futile energy, from place to place. Pushing men hustle each other at the windows of the purser's office, under pretence of expecting letters or despatching telegrams.
ref: 1915, G[eorge] A. Birmingham [pseudonym; James Owen Hannay], chapter I, in Gossamer, New York, N.Y.: George H. Doran Company, →OCLC:
glosses: An opening, usually covered by glass, in a shop which allows people to view the shop and its products from outside; a shop window.
topics: architecture
glosses: The shutter, casement, sash with its fittings, or other framework, which closes a window opening.
examples: text: launch window
text: window of opportunity
text: You have a two-hour window of clear weather to finish working on the lawn.
text: But rescuers have a dwindling window of opportunity, with forecasters predicting the return of heavy monsoon rains in the coming days, effectively sealing off the cave until October.
ref: 2018 July 8, Euan McKirdy, Hilary Whiteman, “Thai cave rescue: Divers enter cave to free boys”, in edition.cnn.com, CNN, retrieved 08 Jul 2018:
text: Now she'll be thinking about fleeing. (The verdict delay) provides a window for potential flight....if she has not fled already.
ref: 2017 August 25, Euan McKirdy et al., “Arrest warrant to be issued for former Thai PM Yingluck Shinawatra”, in edition.cnn.com, CNN, retrieved 25 Aug 2017:
text: An extensive period of trial running will then take place in the first quarter of 2020. The full opening of the Elizabeth Line is still planned to be within a six-month window between October 2020 and March 2021.
ref: 2019 November 6, “Network News”, in Rail, page 26:
text: “The Russian military command is likely aware of the closing window before more western aid arrives and is trying to secure offensive gains before the window closes,” it said in a briefing on Monday.
ref: 2024 April 23, Luke Harding, Dan Sabbagh, quoting Institute for the Study of War, “Russian forces make significant gains in eastern Ukraine”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
glosses: A period of time when something is available or possible; a limited opportunity.
examples: text: His journal provides a rare window into his otherwise obscure life.
text: Then we read Spear's confrontational commentary on the "Richard Pryor Incident" from the Black perspective...and suddenly we began to feel that GCN's window on the Gay World was something we couldn't live without since no other Gay Media voice seemed so speaking.
ref: 1977 December 17, Circle of Loving Companions, “Critical Friends”, in Gay Community News, volume 5, number 24, page 4:
glosses: Something that allows one to see through or into something
examples: text: In this case, a band-pass filter using a range or window of frequencies is appropriate to isolate the frequency or the group of frequencies that characterize a specific cycle.
ref: 2015, Patrick R. Nicolas, Scala for Machine Learning, page 109:
glosses: A restricted range.
topics: computing
engineering
graphical-user-interface
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: A rectangular area on a computer terminal or screen containing some kind of user interface, displaying output and allowing input, often for a single task in a multitasking system.
examples: text: till he has windows on his bread and butter
ref: 1709, William King, Art of Cookery:
glosses: A figure formed of lines crossing each other.
topics: medicine
sciences
glosses: The time between first infection and detectability.
topics: government
military
politics
war
glosses: Synonym of chaff (“strips of material intended to confuse radar”)
synonyms: word: chaff
extra: strips of material intended to confuse radar
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
signal-processing
glosses: A function multiplied with a signal to reduce spectral leakage when performing a Fourier transform.
Synonyms: sense: glass-covered opening
word: glass
Coordinate terms: sense: glass-covered opening
word: door
Derived terms: sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: anabolic window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: awning window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: bay window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: boob window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: bow window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: broken window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
english: broken window theory
translation: broken window theory
word: broken windows theory
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: cabinet window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: casement window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: Catherine-wheel window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: cochlear window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: compass window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: dialog window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: dormer-window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: dormer window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: dormant window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: drop window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: electric window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: fly window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
alt: french
word: French window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: gable window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: garret window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: go out of the window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: go out the window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: Jesse window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: Johari window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: Judas window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: judas window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: Kaiser window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: lancet window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: lattice window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: launch window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: loop-window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: low side window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: lucarne window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: luthern window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: luthern-window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: maintenance window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: make a better door than a window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: marigold window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: mezzanine window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: mullion window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: Norman window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: not have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: ogive window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: one-window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: opera window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: opportunity window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: oriel window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: out of the window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: out the window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: oval window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: Overton window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: palette window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: Palladian window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: picture window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: process window index
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: re-entry window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: rose window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: round window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: sash window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: shop window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: show window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: silly window syndrome
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: sliding window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: store window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: storm window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: the eyes are the window to the soul
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: therapeutic window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: time window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: time window out
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: transfer window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: transom window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: trap window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: trellis window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: truth window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: unwindow
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: unwindowed
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: valence window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: vestibular window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: weather window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: wheel window
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window back
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window bar
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window blind
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window box
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window-breaker
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window card
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window cleaner
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window covering
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window curtain
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window detector
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window display
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window-down
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window down
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window-dress
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window dresser
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window dressing
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window-dressing
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: windowed
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window envelope
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window fly
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window frame
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: windowfront
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window gardening
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window glass
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: windowing
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window-kill
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window ledge
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: windowless
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window licker
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: windowlike
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window lock
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window manager
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window money
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window of discourse
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window of opportunity
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window of time
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window on the world
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window out
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window over
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window pane
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: windowpane
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window plant
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: Windows
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window sash
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window screen
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window seat
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window-seat
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window-shopping
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window shopping → window-shop
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window-shopper
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window sill
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: windowsill
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window sitter
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window stool
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window swallow
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window tax
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window treatment
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window up
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: window washer
sense: Terms derived from window (noun)
word: witch window
Related terms: eye
wind