milieu

Meaning

1. An environment or setting; a medium.
2. A social environment or setting.
3. A group of people with a common point of view; a social class or group.

Synonyms

environment

ambiance

medium

surroundings

ambience

atmosphere

midst

average

centre

inside

mean

setting

outskirt

place

circumjacency

middle

vicinity

background

natural environment

neighborhood

Hyphenated as

mi‧lieu

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈmiːljɜː/

Etymology

PIE word
*me

Borrowed from French milieu (“physical or social environment; group of people with a common point of view”), from Middle French milieu, meilleu, mileu, from Old French milliu, meillieu, mileu (“middle”), from mi- (prefix meaning ‘half’) (from Latin medius (“half; middle”)) + lieu, leu (“place”) (from Latin locus (“place; spot (specific location)”)).