15 November 2015

milieu

[mil-yoo , meel-; French mee-lyœ]

noun, plural milieus French, milieux [mee-lyœ]

1. surroundings, especially of a social or cultural nature:
a snobbish milieu.

Origin of milieu

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

Synonyms

background, sphere, setting. See environment.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for milieu

Contemporary Examples

Packer writes about these people and their milieus beautifully and precisely; respectfully and, when warranted, critically.
Individual Lives in an Unforgiving America
Michael Tomasky
May 21, 2013

Historical Examples

It will be a strange change of milieu for the child, but I have, I think, made her independent of milieus.
Tante
Anne Douglas Sedgwick

Today’s quote

Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.

– Oscar Wilde

On this day

15 November 1943 – Nazi SS leader, Heinrich Himmler issues an order stating that Gypsies were to be treated the same as Jews and sent to concentration camps.

15 November 1988 – Yasser Arafat, head of the Palestinian National Conference, declares the independence of Palestine.

15 November 2007 – Cyclone Sidr, with 160km/h winds, strikes Bangladesh. Over 2 million people are evacuated from coastal areas. Around 5,000 people were killed.

15 November 2008 – death of Ivan Southall AM, DFC, Australian writer of young-adult fiction and non-fiction. Books include ‘Ash Road’, ‘Let the Balloon Go’, ‘Hill’s End’, ‘Fly West’ and ‘Josh. Born 8 June 1921.