Word Study
ghetto
CIDE DICTIONARY
ghetto, n. [It.].
- A quarter of a city where Jews live in greatest numbers. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]"I went to the Ghetto, where the Jews dwell." [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
- Any section of a town inhabited predominantly by members of a specific ethnic, national or racial group, such segregation usually arising from social or economic pressure. The term is commonly applied to areas in cities having a high concentration of low-income African-Americans. [PJC]
- Any isolated group of people. [PJC]
- Any group isolated by external pressures, with an implication of inferiority. [PJC]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
ghetto, n. & v.
--n. (pl. -os)
1 a part of a city, esp. a slum area, occupied by a minority group or groups.
2 hist. the Jewish quarter in a city.
3 a segregated group or area.
--v.tr. (-oes, -oed) put or keep (people) in a ghetto.
--n. (pl. -os)
1 a part of a city, esp. a slum area, occupied by a minority group or groups.
2 hist. the Jewish quarter in a city.
3 a segregated group or area.
--v.tr. (-oes, -oed) put or keep (people) in a ghetto.
Idiom
ghetto-blaster sl. a large portable radio, esp. used to play loud pop music.
Etymology
perh. f. It. getto foundry (applied to the site of the first ghetto in Venice in 1516)
THESAURUS
ghetto
Bowery, Chinatown, East End, East Side, Little Hungary, Little Italy, West End, West Side, barrio, black ghetto, blighted area, business district, central city, city center, core, downtown, greenbelt, inner city, midtown, outskirts, red-light district, residential district, run-down neighborhood, shopping center, skid road, skid row, slum, slums, suburbia, suburbs, tenderloin, tenement district, uptown, urban blightROGET THESAURUS
ghetto
Abode
N abode, dwelling, lodging, domicile, residence, apartment, place, digs, pad, address, habitation, where one's lot is cast, local habitation, berth, diggings, seat, lap, sojourn, housing, quarters, headquarters, resiance, tabernacle, throne, ark, home, fatherland, country, homestead, homestall, fireside, hearth, hearth stone, chimney corner, inglenook, ingle side, harem, seraglio, zenana, household gods, lares et penates, roof, household, housing, dulce domum, paternal domicile, native soil, native land, habitat, range, stamping ground, haunt, hangout, biosphere, environment, ecological niche, nest, nidus, snuggery, arbor, bower, lair, den, cave, hole, hiding place, cell, sanctum sanctorum, aerie, eyrie, eyry, rookery, hive, covert, resort, retreat, perch, roost, nidification, kala jagah, bivouac, camp, encampment, cantonment, castrametation, barrack, casemate, casern, tent, building, chamber, xenodochium, tenement, messuage, farm, farmhouse, grange, hacienda, toft, cot, cabin, hut, chalet, croft, shed, booth, stall, hovel, bothy, shanty, dugout, wigwam, pen, barn, bawn, kennel, sty, doghold, cote, coop, hutch, byre, cow house, cow shed, stable, dovecote, columbary, columbarium, shippen, igloo, iglu, jacal, lacustrine dwelling, lacuslake dwelling, lacuspile dwelling, log cabin, log house, shack, shebang, tepee, topek, house, mansion, place, villa, cottage, box, lodge, hermitage, rus in urbe, folly, rotunda, tower, chateau, castle, pavilion, hotel, court, manor-house, capital messuage, hall, palace, kiosk, bungalow, casa, country seat, apartment house, flat house, frame house, shingle house, tenement house, temple, hamlet, village, thorp, dorp, ham, kraal, borough, burgh, town, city, capital, metropolis, suburb, province, country, county town, county seat, courthouse, ghetto, street, place, terrace, parade, esplanade, alameda, board walk, embankment, road, row, lane, alley, court, quadrangle, quad, wynd, close, yard, passage, rents, buildings, mews, square, polygon, circus, crescent, mall, piazza, arcade, colonnade, peristyle, cloister, gardens, grove, residences, block of buildings, market place, place, plaza, anchorage, roadstead, roads, dock, basin, wharf, quay, port, harbor, quarter, parish, assembly room, meetinghouse, pump room, spa, watering place, inn, hostel, hostelry, hotel, tavern, caravansary, dak bungalow, khan, hospice, public house, pub, pot house, mug house, gin mill, gin palace, bar, bar room, barrel house, cabaret, chophouse, club, clubhouse, cookshop, dive, exchange, grill room, saloon, shebeen, coffee house, eating house, canteen, restaurant, buffet, cafe, estaminet, posada, almshouse, poorhouse, townhouse, garden, park, pleasure ground, plaisance, demesne, cage, terrarium, doghouse, pen, aviary, barn, stall, zoo, urban, metropolitan, suburban, provincial, rural, rustic, domestic, cosmopolitan, palatial, eigner Hert ist goldes Werth, even cities have their graves, ubi libertas ibi patria, home sweet home.For further exploring for "ghetto" in Webster Dictionary Online