Other forms: milieus
A milieu is the social surroundings somebody moves in. A literary milieu, out of his milieu, the milieu of the court.
It means the people and habits around somebody rather than the place itself, which is what separates it from setting. The French means middle place, and the plural in English is usually milieus.
1nounmilieuThe social surroundings somebody moves in.
“He grew up in an artistic milieu, surrounded by painters, writers and musicians.”
milieu is a surroundings.
The French parts are middle and place: the middle you happen to sit in. Your milieu is the people and the rooms around you.
hooks ontomiddle
French milieu means the middle place, from mi, middle, plus lieu, place.
Proto-Indo-European
*stel-
Latin
medius — half; middle
Old French
milliu
Middle French
milieu
French
milieu — physical or social environment; group of people with a common point of view
English, today
milieu
Built 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- (from Latin medius (“half; middle”)) + lieu, leu (“place”) (from Latin locus (“place; spot (specific location)”)).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA