ghetto
UK[ˈɡet.əʊ]US[ˈɡet.oʊ]
n
A part of a city, especially a slum area, occupied by a minority group or groups.
n
Something that resembles or is likened to a ghetto, especially in being isolated, impoverished, or segregated.
Etymology
The word 'ghetto' entered English in the early 17th century, directly borrowed from Italian. Its specific origin traces to the Venetian 'Ghetto Nuovo' (New Foundry), the designated, segregated quarter for the city's Jewish population. This place-name, derived from a word for a metal-casting district, became indelibly associated with enforced segregation. Over centuries, its meaning generalized from that specific historical instance to denote any area where a minority group is isolated, whether by legal decree or social and economic pressures, and later expanded metaphorically to describe any isolated or impoverished condition.
Analysis
The word is a simplex loanword. It originates from the Italian word 'ghetto', which referred to the foundry area of Venice where Jews were compelled to live in 1516. The Italian term is likely a shortening of 'borghetto', a diminutive of 'borgo' (borough, settlement), from a Germanic source related to Old High German 'burg' (fortified place).
Examples
The novel vividly depicts life in the urban ghetto.
Many immigrant communities initially formed ethnic ghettos in major port cities.
Some critics accused the new housing project of creating a modern ghetto for the poor.