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Glite Dictionary
Ivory Coast

Ivory Coast

9 2.6
A country in West Africa on the Gulf of Guinea called Côte d'Ivoire
  • proper noun
  • /ˈaɪvəri koʊst/
translation icon : Costa de Marfil
  • Last year was one of political upheaval and deadly violence for the Ivory Coast.
  • Ivory Coast capital Abidjan
  • border with the Ivory Coast

Examples

  • Yesterday, Delia told me how she got lost once in the Ivory Coast.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • The capital city of Ivory Coast, Abidjan, is famous for its modern skyline and lively nightlife.

  • Are you headed to the Ivory Coast to help out?

    Blog text (4)

  • Civilians who could do so fled over the border into the Ivory Coast.

    Academic text (2010)

  • A training camp for new recruits was established along the border with the Ivory Coast.

    Academic text (2010)

  • The walls of her house were covered with oil murals celebrating the Ivory Coast.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • At the end of 1982, four vessels previously based at Abidjan, Ivory Coast, started commercial fishing on a trial basis.

    Academic text (1990)

  • Among its clients were Nationalist China, South Africa, Mexico, Morocco, the Ivory Coast, and Puerto Rico.

    Academic text (1993)

  • In the rain forest of Ivory Coast, chimpanzees meet the challenge of life by hunting cooperatively and using crude tools

    Academic text (1991)

  • The recent coup d'état in the West African state of Ivory Coast is illustrative.

    Academic text (2002)

Synonyms

Côte d'Ivoire
vsIvory Coast
1 3.8

A country in West Africa on the Gulf of Guinea, also called Ivory Coast

uses the common English name and gives the same neutral location
Republic of Cote d'Ivoire
vsIvory Coast
  • Formal
5.8

A country in West Africa on the Gulf of Guinea known for cocoa production

names the country neutrally and notes only its western Africa location

Surface Forms

Ivory Coast main

Morphology

Ivory + coast

‘I vory Coast’ is a proper name whose parts ('ivory' + 'coast') do give a compositional hint — a coastal place associated historically with ivory — so a learner would likely infer it refers to a coastal region or place. However the full meaning (the specific sovereign country officially called Côte d'Ivoire) is not strictly derivable from the constituents and relies on lexicalized toponymy, so it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Ivory Coast may come from old trade along its shores: European traders bought and sold elephant tusks called ivory on the coast, so people started calling the area 'Ivory Coast'. That's why today Ivory Coast is the English name for the country on the coast of West Africa.