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milieu

 - 6 dictionary results

mi⋅lieu

  [mil-yoo, meel-; Fr. mee-lyœ]
Use milieu in a Sentence
–noun, plural -lieus, French. -lieux  [-lyœ] .
surroundings, esp. of a social or cultural nature: a snobbish milieu.
Origin:
1795–1805; < F, equiv. to mi (< L medius middle; see medium ) + lieu lieu

Synonyms:
background, sphere, setting. See environment.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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mi·lieu   (mĭl-yŏŏ', mē-lyɶ')   
n.   pl. mi·lieus or mi·lieux (-lyɶ')
An environment or a setting.

[French, from Old French, center : mi, middle (from Latin medius; see medhyo- in Indo-European roots) + lieu, place (from Latin locus).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

milieu 
"surroundings," 1877, from Fr., "middle, medium, mean," lit. "middle place," from mi "middle" + lieu "place" (see lieu).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: mi·lieu
Pronunciation: mEl-'y&(r), -'yü; 'mEl-"yü, mE-ly[OE]
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural milieus or mi·lieux /-'y&(r)(z), -'yüz; -"yü(z), -ly[OE](z)/
: ENVIRONMENT
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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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

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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