Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A blind or shutter having adjustable horizontal slats for regulating the passage of air and light.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun An obsolete form of jealousy.
  • noun A blind or shutter made with slats, which are usually set at an angle so as to exclude the sun and rain while allowing the air to enter.
  • noun plural The whole surface or inclosure of a gallery, veranda, or the like, formed of a series of slatted frames (see def. 1), of which some may be fixed and some may open on hinges.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A Venetian or slatted inside window blind.
  • noun A window or door made of multiple glass or plastic slats, which can be opened or closed like a jalousie{1}.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun naval architecture A component in a ventilation system.
  • noun Upward sloping window slats which form a blind or shutter, allowing light and air in but excluding rain and direct sun.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a window with glass louvers
  • noun a shutter made of angled slats

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French, from jalousie, jealousy, from Old French gelosie, from gelos, jealous; see jealous.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Borrowing from French.

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Examples

  • Dick looked about him, but could see nothing at all suitable until his gaze happened to fall upon the window of a house opposite him, which was closed by a kind of jalousie shutter.

    In Search of El Dorado Harry Collingwood 1886

  • James Carl "jalousie" 2008 Installation view Courtesy of Diaz Contemporary/photo Toni Hafkenscheid

    Canadian Art - Online 2009

  • James Carl "jalousie" 2008 Installation view Courtesy of Diaz Contemporary/photo Toni Hafkenscheid

    Canadian Art - Online 2009

  • A cramped sun porch wrapped in jalousie windows, sparsely furnished.

    Learning to Die in Miami Carlos Eire 2010

  • He heard footsteps on the steel stairway, then a shadow crossed his window and someone tapped tentatively on the jalousie.

    Rain Gods James Lee Burke 2009

  • Clawson tried to see through the corner of the jalousie with no success.

    Rain Gods James Lee Burke 2009

  • The front window slid open, and in the back were jalousie windows that I cranked wide to let in the breeze.

    Motel Paradiso 2007

  • He heard footsteps on the steel stairway, then a shadow crossed his window and someone tapped tentatively on the jalousie.

    Rain Gods James Lee Burke 2009

  • The front window slid open, and in the back were jalousie windows that I cranked wide to let in the breeze.

    Motel Paradiso 2007

  • Clawson tried to see through the corner of the jalousie with no success.

    Rain Gods James Lee Burke 2009

Comments

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  • I saw this word for the first time about two months ago in Don Quixote. Now, I see it EVERYWHERE in EVERYTHING that I read. Even on CRAIGSLIST. For cryin' out loud!

    September 7, 2009

  • Inspiring a bit of jalousie, eh?

    September 8, 2009