English
milieu
Milieu comes from French milieu ‘physical or social environment’, from Latin medius ‘half’, and ultimately from Old Latin stlocus.
- Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEstlocus
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElocus‘place’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmedius‘half’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400milliu
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600milieu
- Frenchc. 1600–presentsame form‘physical or social environment’
- Englishearliest quotation 1927same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEstlocus
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElocus‘place’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmedius‘half’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400milliu
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600milieu
- Frenchc. 1600–presentsame form‘physical or social environment’
- Englishearliest quotation 1927same form
Earliest quotation: 1927, Percy Hughes, The Biotic Center of Psychology: “The distinction between the constituents in, and the conditions…”
The story
Borrowed from French milieu (‘physical or social environment; group of people with a common point of view’), from Middle French milieu, meilleu, mileu, from Old French milliu, meillieu, mileu (‘middle’), from mi- (prefix meaning ‘half’) (from Latin medius (‘half; middle’)) + lieu, leu (‘place’) (from Latin locus (‘place; spot (specific location)’)).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *stel- ‘to put, place, locate’
stole, install, stall, stool, apostle, stalk, stale, epistle, stele, apostolate, stela, stell, stolid, 26 more
through Old Latin stlocus
allowance, locality, allocate, locale, collocation, 10 more
through Latin locus ‘place’
local, allow, location, locate, loco, locus, locator, locative, 15 more
through Latin medius ‘half’
mean, medium, medal, median, mediation, mediator, medial, mediate, demi, mezzanine, medulla, moiety, medio, moyen, intermezzo, 18 more
Today it means
noun An environment or setting; a medium; environs
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old Latin stlocus / milieu