— def · threshhold

threshhold

/ˈθrɛʃ.hoʊld/

noun · etym: noemic-anglo · double-aspirated form of threshold · the door being measured for its hospitality

a measure of how long a door stays open after you pass through it.

— shop, kindly3.8 sec
— shop, indifferent0.4 sec
— one's own house
— a friend's house6.0 sec
— a friend, last visit9.5 sec

a high threshhold is a courtesy; the door waits for the second person, the hesitating dog, the slip of paper that has fallen. a low threshhold dismisses the visitor before they have entirely arrived. some doors have a threshhold of zero; some have one approaching infinity. consult the doors wing for catalogued examples.

threshholds can be measured but rarely deliberately. a kind person produces high threshholds without trying; an absent-minded one produces unintentionally plaintice-grade threshholds, leaving doors open for ghosts. compare the narthex, which is the room that begins immediately after.

in a sentence:   "i liked the bakery for its threshhold — the door waited a long second after me, every morning."

see also · narthex plaintice errancy doors visitor

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