ghetto English · revision 1895

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈɡɛ.təʊ/ ''(UK)''; /ˈɡɛ.toʊ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|it|ghetto]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) a word of uncertain origin.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster and Random House derive it from Venetian ''ghèto'' “foundry”, the name of the island near Venice where Jews were made to live,^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from a verb meaning “to cast, throw”, ultimately from Latin ''iactāre''.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) Barnhart and Etymonline list other theories: Yiddish ''get'' “deed of separation”, a shortening of ''Egitto'' “Egypt”, or Italian ''borghetto'' “small section of a town”.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The quarter of a city, chiefly in Italy, to which Jews were restricted (1611).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By 1892 the word was used of any quarter inhabited by Jews,^(Barnhart 1995) and of a crowded city quarter, often a slum, lived in by a minority group.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) From the early 20th century it has been used of the quarters of other minority groups,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) especially black neighbourhoods in American cities.^(Etymonline) It is also used figuratively of any situation that isolates a group or limits its opportunities.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) The verb, to confine in a ghetto, dates from 1936,^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate) and ''ghetto blaster'', a large portable stereo, from 1982.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1611 – the Jewish quarter of a city.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1892 – a crowded quarter of a minority group.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1903 – adjective (Etymonline).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1936 – verb.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1982 – ''ghetto blaster''.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A part of a city lived in mainly by a [[minority]] group, especially because of social, economic or legal pressure; often a [[slum]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(historical)'' A quarter of a European city to which [[Jew|alt=Jews]] were restricted.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A situation or group that is isolated or has inferior status, as in ''job ghettos''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To confine in a ghetto; to [[ghettoize]].^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[ghettoize]]

+ * [[ghetto blaster]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[jet]]

+ * [[borough]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}