louvre

Plurallouvres

1. 1
   Paris museumproper noun · Louvre

   The famous art museum in Paris, France, housed in a building that was once a royal palace.

   We queued for an hour in the rain to get into the Louvre.

   The striker's second goal was so beautiful it deserved a place in the Louvre.

   UsageWritten the Louvre, with a capital L. Saying something belongs in the Louvre is high praise, often for things that are not art.

   Note

   Beyond the building itself, the name works as shorthand for the very best in art. Saying that something belongs in the Louvre is high praise, and people give it freely to things that are not paintings at all: a sculpted physique, a pair of legs, a perfect batting swing.

2. 2
   air slatsnouncountableplural

   A set of sloping, overlapping slats, or a row of narrow angled slits, in a door, window or panel such as a car bonnet, letting air or light through; slatted kinds also keep rain out.

   The bathroom has a louvre above the door so that steam can escape.

   Adjustable aluminium louvres shade the terrace from the midday sun but still let the breeze through.

   UsageThe adjective is louvred: a louvred door, louvred shutters.

   Note

   Angled slits pressed into a car bonnet share the name because they too let air through, though they are there for ventilation rather than to keep rain out.

3. 3
   roof turretnouncountable

   A small turret on the roof of certain medieval buildings, built to let air through or to let light in.

   The great hall had no chimney, only a louvre in the roof above the open fire.

   Restorers rebuilt the timber louvre that once ventilated the abbey's kitchen.

   Note

   This roof turret is the meaning closest to the word's origin: it came through Old French lovier, a skylight. Spenser in 1596 still spells it lover, the Middle English form: in his line "Ne lightned was with window, nor with lover", a dark dwelling gets its light from candles instead. The slatted screens later took over both the name and the job. Source

   Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 6 facts

   • The roof turret represents the word's original architectural meaning. en.wikipedia.org
   • The word came through Old French lovier, meaning skylight. en.wiktionary.org
   • The Spenser passage was first published in 1596, in Book VI of The Faerie Queene. en.wikisource.org
   • Lover is the Middle English form retained by Spenser. en.wiktionary.org
   • The quoted line is Spenser's narration, and the dwelling is illuminated by candlelight. en.wikisource.org
   • The name subsequently extended to slatted screens serving the same ventilation function. en.wikisource.org

Showing meanings only. Show all 3