milieu

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 17, 2007 is: milieu • \meel-YUR\ • noun : the physical or social setting in which something occurs or develops : environment Examples: The quiet suburban neighborhood was within walking distance of the elementary school and provided the perfect milieu for raising a family. Did you know? The etymology of "milieu" comes down to "mi" and "lieu." English speakers learned the word (and borrowed both its spelling and meaning) from French. The modern French term comes from two much older French forms, "mi," meaning "middle," and "lieu," meaning "place." Like so many terms in the Romance languages, those Old French forms can ultimately be traced to Latin; "mi" is an offspring of the Latin "medius"(meaning "middle") and "lieu" is a derivative of "locus" (meaning "place"). English speakers have used "milieu" for the environment or setting of something since at least the mid-1800s, but other "lieu" descendants are much older. We've used both "lieu" itself (meaning "place" or "stead," as in "in lieu of") and "lieutenant" since the 14th century. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.