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Barbary Coast
Barbary Coast definition
Barbary Coast
- coastal region of N Africa, extending from Egypt to the Atlantic, inhabited chiefly by Berbers and once (until early 19th cent.) dominated by piratesalso called Barbary
- the waterfront district in San Francisco from the gold rush of 1849 to the earthquake of 1906, known for its saloons, gambling places, & brothels
Etymology: after Barbary Coast
Etymology: < L Barbaria, lit., a foreign country: see barbarous
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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