jalousie

jalousie — noun

1. a blind or screen with slats that can be tilted, so air and daylight can enter w

1.nounC2
Definition

a blind or screen with slats that can be tilted, so air and daylight can enter without the full sun coming straight in

Example

Wren lowered the jalousie before the storm hit the porch.

lower the jalousie before a storm

At noon, Emre tilted the jalousie to keep the room cool.

tilt the jalousie to control light and air

Common collocations
  • wooden jalousie
  • close the jalousie
  • tilt the jalousie
  • jalousie slats
Synonyms
  • blind

    a broader everyday word for a window covering; it does not specifically imply angled slats

  • shutter

    usually a more solid outside covering, often hinged rather than made of narrow slats

  • louver

    focuses on the slat design itself, not always on the whole covering

Grammar Patterns

close the jalousie before rain

tilt the jalousie open

a wooden jalousie over a porch

Usage Note

Usually refers to a slatted covering fixed over a window, porch, or balcony opening. Distinguish from sense 2, which names a full window made with glass slats.

2. a window built from movable strips of glass that can be opened to let fresh air

2.nounC2
Definition

a window built from movable strips of glass that can be opened to let fresh air pass through

Example

The kitchen jalousie stayed open while Chidi fried fish for lunch.

stay open for airflow in a kitchen

Glass panels in the jalousie rattled when the bus passed.

glass panels in the jalousie

Common collocations
  • glass jalousie
  • jalousie window
  • open the jalousie
  • cracked jalousie
Synonyms
  • louvered window

    a clearer modern term for the same basic window design

  • slatted window

    a plain descriptive phrase, but less established than jalousie

Grammar Patterns

open the jalousie for airflow

a glass jalousie beside the stairs

replace a cracked jalousie

Usage Note

Often appears in descriptions of older or tropical buildings where airflow matters. Distinguish from sense 1, which refers to a blind or screen added over an opening.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Jalousie is more specific than blind because it suggests a row of slats that can be angled for both shade and airflow. Shutter often refers to a more solid outside covering, sometimes hinged, so it does not always imply narrow adjustable slats. Louver focuses on the slatted structure itself and may name one section rather than the whole covering or window. Louvered window overlaps most closely with jalousie in sense 2 and is the clearer modern term when you mean the full glass window rather than a blind-like covering.

blind ↗shutter ↗louver ↗louvered window

Common collocations

Nouns

  • wooden jalousie
  • glass jalousie
  • jalousie window
  • jalousie slats

Phrases

  • close the jalousie before rain
  • tilt the jalousie open
  • replace a cracked jalousie

Prepositions

  • through the jalousie
  • behind the jalousie
  • between the jalousie slats

Etymology

FrenchEnglish

English borrowed jalousie from French. In French, the word also meant jealousy, and it came to name a slatted screen that lets someone look out while making it harder for others to look in.