French window
2
3.7
- noun
- /frɛntʃ ˈwɪndoʊ/
- UK
:
ventana francesa
- Sunlight reflecting off the bay streamed through open French windows leading onto his balcony.
- open French windows
- tall French windows
- room with French windows
Examples
-
The breakfast room was parquet-floored like the hall and had French windows opening onto the paved terrace.
Fiction book (1990) -
One small group hesitated near the French windows that led onto the patio.
Fiction book (1994) -
And the living room has big French windows.
Fiction book (2001) -
They've come to French windows, which are wide open.
Fiction book (1995) -
Turning away from the unfinished portrait of the dead woman, Harry crossed to one of the French windows.
Fiction book (2002) -
But our room had French windows opening onto a balcony with wrought-iron railings.
Fiction book (1994) -
Standing at the tall French windows in the library, Diana blinked and shook her head.
Fiction book (1992) -
A wind flooded through the French windows, and with it a pungency underneath the scent of gladiola.
Fiction book (1998) -
Now, two men step through the French windows onto the terrace.
-
The breakfast room was parquet-floored like the hall and had French windows opening onto the paved terrace.
Synonyms
9
3.4
A door with large glass panels that let light in
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is largely compositional: 'French' signals a French/style origin and 'window' signals a glazed opening, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will likely infer a glazed opening or style of window/door. However, the conventional sense refers specifically to a pair of glazed doors (French doors) rather than a literal window, a usage detail that may not be predictable without exposure, making the expression only partially transparent.
Etymology
French window comes from old French houses where rooms opened with tall glass doors onto a garden, so the doors looked like a big glass window. So today 'French window' means a pair of glass doors that open onto a garden or balcony.