threshold
/ˈθɹɛ.ʃoʊld/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.03 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The outset of something; the point of entry, or the beginning of an action.
noun
The quantitative point at which an action is triggered, especially a lower limit.
noun
The wage or salary at which income tax becomes due.
noun
The point where one is mentally or physically vulnerable in response to a provocation or to other nuisances.
Example Sentences
- "Near-synonym: doorstep"
- "Shy. You that did voide your rume vpon my beard, / And foote me as you ſpurne a ſtranger curre / Ouer your threſhold, […]"
- "on the threshold of maturity"
- "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.'"
- "The first half of this century has been referred to as the golden age of medicine. To me it seems more probable that we are on the threshold of a much greater age."
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 Bokmål terskel (“threshold”), Norwegian Nynorsk treskald (“threshold”), Swedish tröskel (“threshold”), dialectal Swedish träskvald (“threshold”), Icelandic þröskuldur (“threshold”). Pronunciations such as “thresh-hold” are un-etymological and result from analogy with hold.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: threschwolde, þresċold, *þreskudlaz, *þreskaną, *terh₁-
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈθɹɛ.ʃoʊld/
- British English: /ˈθɹɛʃəʊld/