casbah

casbah (North African citadel or old quarter)

noun kaz-BAH Rare

Origin: From Arabic 'qasba' (fortress, citadel).

Usage Note

Casbah entered French through North African Arabic and refers to the fortified old quarter of a city like Algiers; the Casbah of Algiers is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In informal French slang, casbah can humorously mean 'home' or 'pad'. The English phrase 'rock the casbah' derives from the same word.

Examples

"Ils se sont promenés dans la casbah d'Alger."

Natural Translation

They strolled through the casbah of Algiers.

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