mi·lieu

[mil-yoo, meel-; French mee-lyœ]
noun, plural mi·lieus French, mi·lieux [-lyœ] .
surroundings, especially of a social or cultural nature: a snobbish milieu.

Origin:
1795–1805; < French, equivalent to mi (< Latin medius middle; see medium) + lieu lieu


background, sphere, setting. See environment.
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World English Dictionary
milieu (ˈmiːljɜː, French miljø) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n , pl -lieux, -lieus
surroundings, location, or setting
 
[C19: from French, from mi-mid1 + lieu place]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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00:10
Milieu is always a great word to know.
So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

milieu
"surroundings," 1877, from Fr., "middle, medium, mean," lit. "middle place," from mi "middle" + lieu "place" (see lieu).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

milieu mi·lieu (mĭl-y&oobreve;', mēl-yɶ')
n. pl. mi·lieus or mi·lieux (-lyɶ')

  1. The totality of one's surroundings; an environment.

  2. The social setting of a mental patient.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

milieu

according to the French critic Hippolyte Taine, the three principal motives or conditioning factors behind any work of art. Taine sought to establish a scientific approach to literature through the investigation of what created the individual who created the work of art.

Learn more about milieu with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Example sentences
We are all to blame: It's a broad social failure, a cultural milieu that
  backfired, big time.
Such ties tend to weaken or disappear in the urban milieu.
In its attempts to suggest a milieu, the book feels underpopulated and devoid
  of texture.
As these works attest, even as part of a milieu, Pollock had a daring of his
  own.
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