Dictionary

threshold

Etymology

From Middle English threschwolde, threscholde, from Old English þresċold, from Proto-Germanic *þreskudlaz, *þreskūþlijaz, *þreskwaþluz, from Proto-Germanic *þreskaną, *þreskwaną, from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁-.

Cognate with Low German Drüssel, dialectal German Drischaufel, Drissufle, Trüschübel, Danish tærskel, Norwegian terskel, Swedish tröskel, dialectal Swedish träskvald, Icelandic þröskuldur.

Pronunciation

(British) IPA: /ˈθɹɛʃ(h)əʊld/, [ˈθɹɛʃ(h)ɒʊɫd]
(America) IPA: /ˈθɹɛʃ(h)oʊld/

Noun

threshold (plural thresholds)

The lowermost part of a doorway that one crosses to enter; a sill.
(by extension) An entrance; the door or gate of a house.
- c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act I, scene iii], page 166 ↗:
  Shy. You that did voide your rume vpon my beard, / And foote me as you ſpurne a ſtranger curre / Ouer your threſhold, […]
(by extension) Any end or boundary.
(figurative) The outset of something; the point of entry, or the beginning of an action.
- 1927-29, M.K. Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, translated 1940 by Mahadev Desai, Part I, Chapter xi ↗:
  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.'
(aviation) The start of the landing area of a runway.
(engineering) The quantitative point at which an action is triggered, especially a lower limit.
The wage or salary at which income tax becomes due.
The point where one is mentally or physically vulnerable in response to a provocation or to other nuisances.