# louvre

Pronunciation: UK say "LOO-vuh" /ˈluːvə/; US say "LOO-ver" /ˈluːvɚ/

## Proper noun · Louvre

Pronunciation: US say "LOOV" /luːv/; UK say "LOOV-ruh" /ˈluːvɹə/

1. The famous art museum in Paris, France, housed in a building that was once a royal palace.
   - Simple: A famous art museum in Paris that was once a palace for kings and queens.
   - _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._

## Noun

2. 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.
   - Simple: Narrow sloping strips or slits in a door, window or panel that let air in but 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._
3. A small turret on the roof of certain medieval buildings, built to let air through or to let light in.
   - Simple: A little tower on top of some very old buildings, there to let fresh air or 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._

## Origin

**Meanings 2–3** — Came into English through Middle English lover, taken from Old French lovier or lover (“skylight”). That goes back to Medieval Latin *lōdārium (found written as lōvārium), a longer form of lōdium. Where lōdium came from is uncertain, but it is probably Germanic and linked to Frankish *laubijā (“shelter”).
**Meaning 1** — Borrowed from French Louvre, the name of the former royal palace in Paris that houses the museum.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/louvre (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).