/ English Dictionary |
BARBARY COAST
Pronunciation (US): | (GB): |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The Mediterranean coast of northern Africa that was famous for its Moorish pirates
Classified under:
Nouns denoting spatial position
Instance hypernyms:
coast; sea-coast; seacoast; seashore (the shore of a sea or ocean)
Holonyms ("Barbary Coast" is a part of...):
Barbary (a region of northern Africa on the Mediterranean coast between Egypt and Gibraltar; was used as a base for pirates from the 16th to 19th centuries)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A part of a city that is notorious for gambling dens and brothels and saloons and riotous night life (especially the waterfront of San Francisco after the gold rush of 1849)
Example:
we'll tolerate no Barbary Coast in this city!
Classified under:
Nouns denoting spatial position
Hypernyms ("Barbary Coast" is a kind of...):
city district (a district of a town or city)