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Added 9 October 2026

milieu

/ˈmiːljɜː/ noun

Latin root: medius Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about milieu at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

An environment or setting; a medium; environs
A social environment or setting.
A group of people with a common point of view; a social class or group.

Origin

PIE word *me 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)”)).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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