boulevard English · revision 2383

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈbuː.ləˌvɑːd/ ''(UK)''; /ˈbʊ.lə.vɑɹd/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|boulevard]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995) from Middle French ''bollevart'' “rampart”,^(AHD)^(RHWU) a modification of [[dum|bolwerc|t=bulwark]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) which also gave English ''bulwark''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline) Etymonline explains the garbling of the Dutch word by French having no ''w'' at the time.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A broad street or promenade planted with rows of trees, chiefly with reference to Paris (1769).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) Merriam-Webster dates it to 1768;^(MW Collegiate) Barnhart notes that it was introduced into English in Walpole's correspondence.^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In French the word meant the walkway along a rampart, and then an avenue built where city walls had been razed;^(Barnhart 1995)^(RHWU)^(Etymonline) such promenades were wider than the old streets.^(Etymonline) In North America the word has since 1929 been used of multi-lane highways.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Regionally it also names a strip of lawn between the sidewalk and the curb.^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1769 – a broad tree-lined street or promenade.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1838 – ''boulevard theatre''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1929 – ''(North America)'' a main highway or dual carriageway.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A broad city avenue, often landscaped with trees and grass at the sides or in the centre.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(regional US, Canada)'' A strip of lawn between a sidewalk and the curb, or the grassy strip down the middle of a road.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[boulevardier]]

+ * [[bulwark]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}