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Glite Dictionary
Dutch door

Dutch door

1 5.6
A door split across the middle so the top or bottom half opens separately
  • noun
  • /dʌtʃ dɔr/
translation icon : puerta holandesa
  • I built a Dutch door and installed it between the house and the porch.

Examples

  • We were greeted each morning by her two dogs, Gibson and Ghetto, as soon as we opened the top of the Dutch doors.

    Blog text (19)

  • Clay knocks on the bottom of the Dutch door as he lifts the latch and walks in.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • We put in two Dutch doors wide enough for the garden tractor.

  • Clay knocks on the bottom of the Dutch door as he lifts the latch and walks in.

Synonyms

half door
vsDutch door
1 4.9

An outside door split into top and bottom parts that open separately

means the same thing but uses a different name

Surface Forms

Dutch door singular
Dutch doors plural

Morphology

Dutch + door

Knowing 'Dutch' (relating to the Netherlands) and 'door' (an entry barrier) yields a probable inference of origin or style but gives no basis to predict the specific structural feature of being divided horizontally so the top half opens independently. The key functional property of this MWE is not compositionally signaled by its parts and is lexicalized, so learners who only know the constituents are unlikely to infer the actual meaning.

Etymology

Dutch door may come from old houses in the Netherlands, where people used a door split in two so they could open the top half to let in air and talk to neighbours while the bottom half stayed closed to keep animals and children out. So 'Dutch door' now means 'a door divided horizontally that lets the top open while the bottom stays shut'.