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Also called a louvered window, a jalousie window is like a glass shutter, made from several parallel panes of glass that open in unison. The word comes from the French for jealousy and, in the 16th century, referred to shuttered covers for window openings.
Like today’s wood shutters, those early coverings employed a series of wooden slats sloped to shed rain and direct sun but admit in air and light.
Jalousie windows were installed in many warm-climate American homes before the widespread popularity of air conditioning. In recent years, however, they’ve lost favor because most permit excessive air infiltration between the panes, allowing for uncomfortable drafts and costly heat loss.
