Barbary Coast

proper noun

The Mediterranean region off the coast of North Africa, once notorious as a haven for pirates

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Meanings

proper noun
  1. The Mediterranean region off the coast of North Africa, once notorious as a haven for pirates
  2. broadlyA waterfront area of San Francisco at the time of the gold rush.

    The tango, the Texas Tommy, Walking the Dog, the one step, the fox trot, the shimmy, and all their out-growths, had their origin in the palaces of lust on the Barbary Coast of San Francisco.

    1930, Jefferis & Nichols, Safe Counsel or Practical Eugenics, page 200
Cite this entry
APA

Barbary Coast. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Barbary%20Coast

MLA

“Barbary Coast.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Barbary%20Coast. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Barbary Coast,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Barbary%20Coast.

Source: Barbary Coast on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.