ˈθreʃhəuld n. 1 a strip of
wood or
stone forming
the bottom of a
doorway and crossed in entering a
house or
room etc. 2 a
point of
entry or
beginning (on the threshold of a
new century). 3 Physiol. & Psychol. a
limit below which a
stimulus causes no
reaction (pain threshold). 4
Physics a limit below which no reaction occurs,
esp. a
minimum dose of
radiation producing a specified
effect. 5 (often attrib.) a
step in a scale of wages or
taxation, usu.
operative in specified conditions. [OE therscold, threscold,
etc., rel. to
THRASH in the
sense 'tread']