Meanings
proper nounthe Bosphorus
alternative Bosporus
- The narrow strait beside Istanbul, Turkey connecting the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, the northern end of the Turkish Straits connecting the Black Sea with the Aegean and Mediterranean.
The 20-min. crossing of the Bosphorus by ferry steamer from the Golden Horn, the busy river-fed harbour that divides old and new Istanbul on the European side of the Bosphorus, was a pleasure in itself.
1950 July, J. C. Mertens, “By the "Taurus Express" to Baghdad”, in Railway Magazine, page 435Synonyms: Constantinople Strait, Istanbul Strait
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounThe narrow strait beside Istanbul, Turkey connecting the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, the northern end of the Turkish Straits connecting the Black Sea with the Aegean and Mediterranean.
Similar
Constantinople StraitIstanbul Strait
Origin
- Ancient GreekΒόσπορος
- LatinBosphorus
- EnglishBosphorus
From medieval Latin Bosphorus, from Ancient Greek Βόσπορος (Bósporos).
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans Bosporus, Istanboel-straat
- Bosporusa strait that passes through Istanbul
- Istanboel-straata strait that passes through Istanbul
Ancient Greek Βόσπορος
- Βόσπορος (Bósporos)a strait that passes through Istanbul
Arabic مَضِيق بُوسْفُور, اَلْبُوسْفُور
- مَضِيق بُوسْفُور (maḍīq busfūr)a strait that passes through Istanbul
- اَلْبُوسْفُور (al-busfūr)a strait that passes through Istanbul
- اَلْبُسْفُورْ (al-busfūr)a strait that passes through Istanbul
Basque Bosforo itsasartea
- Bosforo itsasarteaa strait that passes through Istanbul
Bengali বসফরাস প্রণালী
- বসফরাস প্রণালী (bośphoraś pronali)a strait that passes through Istanbul
Bulgarian Босфо́р
- Босфо́р (Bosfór)a strait that passes through Istanbul
Catalan Bòsfor
- Bòsfora strait that passes through Istanbul
Chinese Mandarin 博斯普魯斯海峽 /博斯普鲁斯海峡
- 博斯普魯斯海峽 /博斯普鲁斯海峡 (Bósīpǔlǔsī hǎixiá)a strait that passes through Istanbul
Czech Bospor
- Bospora strait that passes through Istanbul
Danish Bosporus, Bosporusstrædet
- Bosporusa strait that passes through Istanbul
- Bosporusstrædeta strait that passes through Istanbul
Dutch Bosporus
- Bosporusa strait that passes through Istanbul
Esperanto Bosporo
- Bosporoa strait that passes through Istanbul
Estonian Bosporus
- Bosporusa strait that passes through Istanbul
Finnish Bosporinsalmi
- Bosporinsalmia strait that passes through Istanbul
French Bosphore
- Bosphorea strait that passes through Istanbul
German Bosporus
- Bosporusa strait that passes through Istanbul
Greek Βόσπορος
- Βόσπορος (Vósporos)a strait that passes through Istanbul
Hebrew בּוֹסְפּוֹרוּס
- בּוֹסְפּוֹרוּס (bosporus)a strait that passes through Istanbul
Hindi बोस्पोरुस जलसन्धि
- बोस्पोरुस जलसन्धि (bosporus jalsandhi)a strait that passes through Istanbul
Hungarian Boszporusz
- Boszporusza strait that passes through Istanbul
Icelandic Bosporussund
- Bosporussunda strait that passes through Istanbul
Indonesian Selat Bosporus
- Selat Bosporusa strait that passes through Istanbul
Irish an Bhosparais
- an Bhosparaisa strait that passes through Istanbul
Italian Bosforo
- Bosforoa strait that passes through Istanbul
Japanese ボスフォラス海峡
- ボスフォラス海峡 (Bosuporasu kaikyō)a strait that passes through Istanbul
Korean 보스포루스 해협
- 보스포루스 해협 (Boseuporuseu haehyeop)a strait that passes through Istanbul
Latin Bosporus, Bosporus Thracius
- Bosporusa strait that passes through Istanbul
- Bosporus Thraciusa strait that passes through Istanbul
Latvian Bosfors
- Bosforsa strait that passes through Istanbul
Lithuanian Bosforo sąsiauris, Bosforas
- Bosforo sąsiaurisa strait that passes through Istanbul
- Bosforasa strait that passes through Istanbul
Malay Selat Bosphorus
- Selat Bosphorusa strait that passes through Istanbul
Norwegian Bokmål Bosporos
- Bosporosa strait that passes through Istanbul
Persian تنگه بسفر
- تنگه بسفر (tange-ye bosfor)a strait that passes through Istanbul
Polish Bosfor
- Bosfora strait that passes through Istanbul
Portuguese Bósforo
- Bósforoa strait that passes through Istanbul
Punjabi ਬਾਸਫੋਰਸ ਸਟ੍ਰੇਟ
- ਬਾਸਫੋਰਸ ਸਟ੍ਰੇਟ (bāsphoras saṭreṭ)a strait that passes through Istanbul
Romanian Bosfor
- Bosfora strait that passes through Istanbul
Russian Босфо́р
- Босфо́р (Bosfór)a strait that passes through Istanbul
Scottish Gaelic Bòsfaras
- Bòsfarasa strait that passes through Istanbul
Slovak Bospor
- Bospora strait that passes through Istanbul
Spanish Bósforo
- Bósforoa strait that passes through Istanbul
Swahili Bosporus
- Bosporusa strait that passes through Istanbul
Swedish Bosporen
- Bosporena strait that passes through Istanbul
Tagalog Bosporus
- Bosporusa strait that passes through Istanbul
Tamil பொசுபோரசு
- பொசுபோரசு (pocupōracu)a strait that passes through Istanbul
Thai ช่องแคบบอสฟอรัส
- ช่องแคบบอสฟอรัส (chông kâep bòtforrát)a strait that passes through Istanbul
Turkish İstanbul Boğazı, Boğaz
- İstanbul Boğazıa strait that passes through Istanbul
- Boğaza strait that passes through Istanbul
Ukrainian Босфо́р
- Босфо́р (Bosfór)a strait that passes through Istanbul
Urdu آبنائے باسفورس
- آبنائے باسفورسa strait that passes through Istanbul
Vietnamese eo biển Bosporus, eo biển Bospho
- eo biển Bosporusa strait that passes through Istanbul
- eo biển Bosphoa strait that passes through Istanbul
Welsh Bosphorus
- Bosphorusa strait that passes through Istanbul
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with Bosphorus
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
Bosphorus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Bosphorus
MLA
“Bosphorus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Bosphorus. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Bosphorus,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Bosphorus.
Source: Bosphorus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.