mullion (n.)

in architecture, "a vertical column between the lights of a window or screen," 1560s, metathesis of Middle English moyniel (early 14c.), from Anglo-French moinel, noun use of moienel (adj.) "middle," from Old French meien "intermediate, mean" (see mean (adj.)). Related: Mullioned.

also from 1560s

Entries linking to mullion

mean (v.1)

"intend, have in mind;" Middle English mēnen, from Old English mænan "intend (to do something), plan; indicate (a certain object) or convey (a certain sense) when using a word," from Proto-West Germanic *menjojanan (source also of Old Frisian mena "to signify," Old Saxon menian "to intend, signify, make known," Dutch menen, German meinen "think, suppose, be of the opinion"), from PIE *meino- "opinion, intent" (source also of Old Church Slavonic meniti "to think, have an opinion," Old Irish mian "wish, desire," Welsh mwyn "enjoyment"), perhaps from root *men- (1) "to think."

From late 14c. as "have intentions of a specified kind" (as in to mean well). Of a person or thing, "to be of some account, to matter (to)," by 1888. Conversational question you know what I mean? attested by 1834.

*medhyo-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "middle." Perhaps related to PIE root *me- (2) "to measure."

It forms all or part of: amid; intermediate; mean (adj.2) "occupying a middle or intermediate place;" medal; medial; median; mediate; medieval; mediocre; Mediterranean; medium; meridian; mesic; mesial; meso-; meson; Mesopotamia; Mesozoic; mezzanine; mezzo; mezzotint; mid (prep., adj.); middle; Midgard; midriff; midst; midwife; milieu; minge; mizzen; moiety; mullion.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit madhyah, Avestan madiya- "middle," Greek mesos, Latin medius "in the middle, between; from the middle," Gothic midjis, Old English midd "middle," Old Church Slavonic medzu "between," Armenian mej "middle."

Trends of mullion

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/. Ngrams are probably unreliable.

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sprit

Middle English sprete, from Old English spreot "pole, pike, spear," originally "a sprout, shoot, branch of a tree," from Proto-Germanic *sprut- (see sprout (v.)). It is cognate with Middle Dutch spriet, Middle Low German spryet, German Spriet, North Frisian sprit. The only surviv

strip

"remove the clothes of, deprive of covering," early 13c., strepen, a specialized sense of Old English -striepan, -strypan (transitive) "to plunder, rob, despoil" (as in West Saxon bestrypan "to plunder," Anglian -strepan). This is from Proto-Germanic *straupijan (source also of M

stirp

"race, lineage, family," c. 1500, from Latin stirp "the stock of a family, line of descent, ancestral race," a figurative use from stirps "stem, stalk, trunk of a plant," figuratively "source, origin, foundation, beginning," a word of uncertain origin. De Vaan writes that it "Has

lisp

sometimes lipse, late 14c. alteration of wlisp, from late Old English awlyspian "to lisp, to pronounce 's' and 'z' imperfectly," from wlisp (adj.) "lisping," which is probably imitative (compare Middle Dutch, Old High German lispen, Danish læspe, Swedish läspa). General sense "sp

slip

early 14c., slippen, "to escape, to move softly and quickly," from an unrecorded Old English word or cognate Middle Low German slippen "to glide, slide," from Proto-Germanic *slipan (source also of Old High German slifan, Middle Dutch slippen, German schleifen "to glide, slide").

window

c. 1200, literally "wind eye," from Old Norse vindauga, from vindr "wind" (see wind (n.1)) + auga "eye" (from PIE root *okw- "to see"). Replaced Old English eagþyrl, literally "eye-hole," and eagduru, literally "eye-door." Compare Old Frisian andern "window," literally "breath-do

taboo

also tabu, 1777 (in Cook's "A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean"), "consecrated, inviolable, forbidden, unclean or cursed; prohibited to a certain class," explained in some English sources as being from Tongan (Polynesian language of the island of Tonga) ta-bu "sacred," from ta "mark"

Tuesday

third day of the week, Old English tiwesdæg, from Tiwes, genitive of Tiw "Tiu," from Proto-Germanic *Tiwaz "god of the sky," the original supreme deity of ancient Germanic mythology, differentiated specifically as Tiu, ancient Germanic god of war, from PIE *deiwos "god," from roo

cameo

early 15c., kaadmaheu, camew, chamehieux and many other spellings (from early 13c. in Anglo-Latin), "engraving in relief upon a precious stone with two layers of colors" (such as onyx, agate, or shell) and done so as to utilize the effect of the colors, from Old French camaieu an

parameter

1650s in geometry, in reference to conic sections, from Modern Latin parameter (1630s), from Greek para- "beside, subsidiary" (see para- (1)) + metron "measure" (from PIE root *me- (2) "to measure"). A geometry term until late 1920s when it began to be extended to "measurable fac

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updated on March 19, 2019

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Dictionary entries near mullion

mulled

mullein

mullet

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mulligrubs

mullion

multi-

multicellular

multicolored

multicultural

multiculturalism