noun
threshold
THRESH-hohld/ˈθreʃhəʊld/
The entry boundary of a doorway.
He steps across the threshold into the house.
Etymology
Old English þrescold meant a door-sill or point of entering, though its deeper origin is uncertain. That physical boundary became a figurative beginning: the point of entry into a new state or condition.
In context
The law states that the hate crime threshold is met if something would be deemed by a reasonable person to be “threatening or abusive”.
More examples
- Rain seeps under the door and pools along the threshold.
- He carries the heavy box across the threshold.
- The carpenter replaces the worn wooden threshold.
Forms
threshold · thresholds
Similar words
- sill
- Sill names the bottom ledge of a doorway or window.
- doorway
- Doorway refers to the entire opening, not just its boundary.