Etymologically
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ghetto

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 14 October 2026 at 23:32. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈɡɛ.təʊ/ (UK); /ˈɡɛ.toʊ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian ghetto,[2][3][4][5][6] a word of uncertain origin.[3][4] Merriam-Webster and Random House derive it from Venetian ghèto “foundry”, the name of the island near Venice where Jews were made to live,[5][6] from a verb meaning “to cast, throw”, ultimately from Latin iactāre.[5][6] Barnhart and Etymonline list other theories: Yiddish get “deed of separation”, a shortening of Egitto “Egypt”, or Italian borghetto “small section of a town”.[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The quarter of a city, chiefly in Italy, to which Jews were restricted (1611).[7][3][5]

Semantic evolution

By 1892 the word was used of any quarter inhabited by Jews,[3] and of a crowded city quarter, often a slum, lived in by a minority group.[7][4] From the early 20th century it has been used of the quarters of other minority groups,[3][4] especially black neighbourhoods in American cities.[4] It is also used figuratively of any situation that isolates a group or limits its opportunities.[2][5][6] The verb, to confine in a ghetto, dates from 1936,[7][5] and ghetto blaster, a large portable stereo, from 1982.[7][4]

Timeline

  • 1611 – the Jewish quarter of a city.[7][3][5]
  • 1892 – a crowded quarter of a minority group.[7][3]
  • 1903 – adjective (Etymonline).[4]
  • 1936 – verb.[7][5]
  • 1982 – ghetto blaster.[7][4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A part of a city lived in mainly by a minority group, especially because of social, economic or legal pressure; often a slum.
  2. (historical) A quarter of a European city to which Jews were restricted.
  3. A situation or group that is isolated or has inferior status, as in job ghettos.

Verb

  1. To confine in a ghetto; to ghettoize.

Word family

  • ghettoize
  • ghetto blaster
  • jet
  • borough

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press