persiennes

American  

[pur-zee-enz, per-syen] / ˌpɜr ziˈɛnz, pɛrˈsyɛn /

noun

1. (used with a plural verb) Persian blinds.

2. (used with a singular verb) a printed or painted fabric of cotton or silk.

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persiennes British  

/ ˌpɜːsɪˈɛnz /

plural noun

1. Also called: Persian blinds.  outside window shutters having louvres to keep out the sun while maintaining ventilation

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Etymology

Origin of persiennes

1835–45; < French, noun use of plural of persienne, feminine of persien, obsolete variant of persan Persian

Example Sentences

The battens, which for years had secured the windows of the rooms on the ground-floor, had been unnailed on one side, and hung down beside the open persiennes.

From Autumn Glory The Toilers of the Field by Bazin, Ren?

I looked through the half-open persiennes with a semi-presentiment that it was my sweet foreigner who was leaving ere I could presume on my clematis or improve our acquaintance.

From Cecil Castlemaine's Gage, Lady Marabout's Troubles, and Other Stories by Ouida

Closed persiennes of brownish-green, blistered wood protected them.

From The Garden of Allah by Hichens, Robert Smythe

She watched the sunshine coming in bars through the persiennes, and her immediate surroundings again melted away.

From The Rainbow by Lawrence, D. H. (David Herbert)

It was terribly cold, our windows under the persiennes were white with frost.

From The Blockade of Phalsburg An Episode of the End of the Empire by Chatrian, Alexandre