ghetto

Where does the word "ghetto" come from? It comes from Italian borghetto, passing through Italian before entering English (1600s-1900s).

Ghetto’s story begins in Italian: borghetto meant “a confined urban quarter.” Possibly "little town" or a foundry district where Venice confined Jewish residents. Within Italian, it grew into ghetto by 1500s. Named the segregated Jewish quarter of Venice. It reached English by 1600s-1900s as ghetto. Venice's Jewish quarter of 1516 was beside a foundry, 'getto'; the word spread to other cities. Today, ghetto means a part of a city where a minority group lives, often due to social or economic pressure.

1. Stage 1 · Italian · medieval borghetto "a confined urban quarter", possibly "little town" or a foundry district where Venice confined Jewish residents.
2. Stage 2 · Italian · 1500s ghetto "a segregated urban quarter", named the segregated Jewish quarter of Venice.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1600s-1900s ghetto "an area occupied by a minority group, often by force", Venice's Jewish quarter of 1516 was beside a foundry, 'getto'; the word spread to other cities.