milieu

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: mi=lieu

CIDE DICTIONARY

milieu, n. [F., fr. mi middle (L. medius) + lieu place. See Demi-, Lieu.].

 Environment.
"The intellectual and moral milieu created by multitudes of self-centered, cultivated personalities."
"It is one of the great outstanding facts of his progressive relation to the elements of his social milieu."  [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

milieu, n. (pl. milieux or milieus) one's environment or social surroundings.

Etymology

F f. mi MID(1) + lieu place

THESAURUS

milieu

agora, air, airspace, alentours, ambiance, ambience, ambient, ambit, amphitheater, area, arena, athletic field, atmosphere, auditorium, aura, background, bear garden, belt, borderlands, bowl, boxing ring, bull ring, campus, canvas, circle, circuit, circumambiencies, circumjacencies, circumstances, circus, climate, cockpit, coliseum, colosseum, compass, confines, context, continental shelf, corridor, country, course, department, district, division, element, entourage, environing circumstances, environment, environs, feel, feeling, field, floor, forum, gestalt, ground, gym, gymnasium, habitat, hall, heartland, hinterland, hippodrome, land, lists, locale, marketplace, mat, medium, mise-en-scene, neighborhood, note, offshore rights, open forum, outposts, outskirts, overtone, palaestra, parade ground, part, parts, perimeter, periphery, pit, place, platform, precinct, precincts, premises, prize ring, public square, purlieu, purlieus, quality, quarter, range, region, ring, salient, scene, scene of action, scenery, section, sense, setting, site, situation, soil, space, sphere, spirit, squared circle, stadium, stage, stage set, stage setting, suburbs, surroundings, terrain, territory, theater, three-mile limit, tilting ground, tiltyard, tone, total environment, twelve-mile limit, undertone, vicinage, vicinity, walk, wrestling ring, zone