Crossword Dictionary
DOORWAY
doorway, doorways - n
the entranceway to a room or building
Synonyms
departure, emanation, emergence, escape, exit, exiting, exodus, issue, opening, outlet, vent, withdrawal
Examples
Catherine appeared in the doorway, shaking with righteous anger.
There were so many people in the doorway that we could hardly get out.
Tony was so tall that he had to lean down to get through the doorway.
Etymology
"the passage of a door, an entrance into a room or building," 1738, from door + way (n.).
door (n.)
"movable barrier, commonly on hinges, for closing a passage into a building, room, or other enclosure," c. 1200, a Middle English merger of two Old English words, both with the general sense of "door, gate": dor (neuter; plural doru) "large door, gate," and duru (fem., plural dura) "door, gate, wicket." The difference (no longer felt in Old English) was that the former came from a singular form, the latter from a plural.
way (n.)
Old English weg "road, path; course of travel; room, space, freedom of movement;" also, figuratively, "course of life" especially, in plural, "habits of life" as regards moral, ethical, or spiritual choices, from Proto-Germanic *wega- "course of travel, way" (source also of Old Saxon, Dutch weg, Old Norse vegr, Old Frisian wei, Old High German weg, German Weg, Gothic wigs "way"), from PIE root *wegh- "to go, move, transport in a vehicle."