|
A window is a transparent opening in a wall or door that allows the passage of light and, if not closed or sealed, air and sound. Windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent material like a float glass. Windows are held in place by frames, which prevent them from collapsing in. Many glazed windows may be opened, to allow ventilation, or closed, to exclude inclement weather. The word window originates from the Old Norse vindauga, from vindrwind and augaeye, i.e. wind eye. In Norwegian Nynorsk and Icelandic the Old Norse form has survived to this day , in Swedish the word vind?ga remains as a term for a hole through the roof of a hut, and in the Danish language vindue and Norwegian Bokm?l vindu, the direct link to eye is lost, just like for window. The Danish word is pronounced fairly similar to window. Window is first recorded in the early 13th century, and originally referred to an unglazed hole in a roof. Window replaced the Old English eagtyrl, which literally means eye-hole, and eagduru eye-door. Many Germanic languages however adopted the Latin word fenestra to describe a window with glass, such as standard Swedish f?nster, or German Fenster. The use of window in English is probably due to the Scandinavian influence on the English language by means of loanwords during the Viking Age. In English the word fenester was used as a parallel until the mid-18th century and fenestration is still used to describe the arrangement of windows within a fa?ade. | 
