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prettygoodwordjalousie (JAL-uh-see or ZHAL-oo-see) - n., a blind or shutter of adjustable horizontal slats; a window of adjustable wooden or glass slats or louvers.
I know the former sense as a Venetian blind, but that may be a regionalism. The word was borrowed in the 16th or 18th century (dictionaries disagree) for the blind, and extended to the window when it was invented around the turn of the 20th century. As for borrowed from where, that would be French, in turn from Italian (which is where the Venice comes in) from gelosia, jealousy -- with reference to being able to see through it without being seen. Ah, privacy.
---L.
I know the former sense as a Venetian blind, but that may be a regionalism. The word was borrowed in the 16th or 18th century (dictionaries disagree) for the blind, and extended to the window when it was invented around the turn of the 20th century. As for borrowed from where, that would be French, in turn from Italian (which is where the Venice comes in) from gelosia, jealousy -- with reference to being able to see through it without being seen. Ah, privacy.
---L.
