Window

How to spell window

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce window

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does window mean?

1. nounAn opening in a wall or vehicle, usually fitted with glass, that lets in light and air.
2. nounA limited interval of time during which something can be done.
3. nounA framed area on a computer screen showing a program or document.

Window in a sentence

• She opened the window to let some fresh air into the office.

• The launch must happen within a narrow window on Tuesday morning.

• Close the browser window before you shut down the laptop.

• Rain streaked down the bedroom window all afternoon.

• There is only a brief window to book the discounted fare.

• She dragged the document into a separate window to compare the two files.

Where does window come from?

Language of origin: Old Norse

Window comes from the Old Norse vindauga, a compound that literally meant 'wind eye': vindr meaning 'wind' joined to auga meaning 'eye'. The image is wonderfully concrete; in early Scandinavian and northern English houses, the opening in a wall or roof was simply the 'eye' through which the wind (and light) passed, since glass was a later luxury. The word arrived in English during the Viking period and slowly displaced the native Old English term eagthyrl ('eye hole') and eagduru ('eye door'). Over time the meaning broadened from a plain hole to the glazed, framed opening we picture today, and then to figurative uses such as a 'window of opportunity'. The spelling settled with the -ow ending common in English (as in widow and meadow), masking the 'eye' that still hides inside the second syllable.

How the word is built

• wind (from Old Norse vindr: wind)
• ow (from auga: eye)