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seuil

threshold, doorstep

noun SUY Rare

Also means

threshold (figurative limit)

Usage Note

seuil is very productive in figurative use — seuil de pauvreté (poverty line), seuil de tolérance (tolerance threshold), seuil de rentabilité (break-even point). Literally it refers to the step or sill at the entrance of a building. The final -l is silent.

Examples

"Il s'arrête sur le seuil de la porte."

Natural Translation

He stops on the doorstep.

Literal Translation

He stops on the threshold of the door.

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