Well attestedNamed from the place
French door
noun · first attested 19th century
Americans call it a door and the British call the same thing a window.
A glazed door with panes running its full length, usually hung in pairs.
Record
- Relationship
- Named from the place
- Confidence
- Well attestedThe place link is the standard scholarly account.
- Attested
- 19th century
- Part of speech
- noun
Explanations here are written for this atlas. Dictionary text is not copied; the sources are linked so the claim can be checked.
- Step 1
France
- In English
French door
The form came from seventeenth-century France, where casement windows were extended to the floor so that rooms could open directly onto gardens and terraces. British English still calls it a French window; American English settled on French door. The phrase has since been borrowed again for a style of refrigerator with two hinged upper doors.
Also pinned to France
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France
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