Word Study
cul-de-sac
CIDE DICTIONARY
cul-de-sac, n. [ F., lit., bottom of a bag.].
- A passage with only one outlet, as a street closed at one end; a blind alley; hence, a trap. [1913 Webster]
- a position in which an army finds itself with no way of exit but to the front. [1913 Webster]
- Any bag-shaped or tubular cavity, vessel, or organ, open only at one end. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
cul-de-sac, n. (pl. culs-de-sac pronunc. same)
1 a street or passage closed at one end.
2 a route or course leading nowhere; a position from which one cannot escape.
3 Anat. = DIVERTICULUM.
1 a street or passage closed at one end.
2 a route or course leading nowhere; a position from which one cannot escape.
3 Anat. = DIVERTICULUM.
Etymology
F, = sack-bottom
ROGET THESAURUS
cul-de-sac
Closure
N closure, occlusion, blockade, shutting up, obstruction, embolus, contraction, infarction, constipation, obstipation, blind alley, blind corner, keddah, cul-de-sac, caecum, imperforation, imperviousness, impermeability, stopper, closed, shut, operculated, unopened, unpierced, imporous, caecal, closable, imperforate, impervious, impermeable, impenetrable, impassable, unpassable, invious, pathless, wayless, untrodden, untrod, unventilated, air tight, water tight, hermetically sealed, tight, snug.
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