Key West
38
2.1
- proper noun
- /ki wɛst/
- They were twenty-two miles south of Key West, a marlin highway that ran along a drop-off in the ocean floor, an east-to-west ridge that plummeted from nine hundred feet to two thousand in less than a mile.
- Key West, Fla.
- Key West, Florida
- weekend in Key West
Examples
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"I'm going into Key West," I say, coming upon Lowell, pouring glasses of iced tea at the kitchen counter.
Fiction book (2002) -
Key West is, and that's exactly where I need to be right now, with a drink in my hand.
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Time to get me down to Key West, baby.
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We can still go to Key West, just like we planned.
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I got a friend, lives down in Key West.
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Angel went to Key West.
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I have reservations for Key West.
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Back in Key West that evening, on impulse, I'm almost giddy.
Fiction book (2002) -
Antonio Guerrero moves to Key West, the base of anti-Castro radio stations.
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Many tourists visit Key West to enjoy its beautiful beaches and historical sites.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The place name is compositionally built from 'key' (a small coral island) + 'west' (western), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it refers to the western island/town among the Florida Keys rather than an idiomatic meaning. This kind of geographic place-name formation is common cross-linguistically and therefore readily comprehensible to learners.
Etymology
Key West gets its name from two simple ideas: one popular story says the Spanish called the island 'Cayo Hueso', meaning 'island of bones', because many bones were found there, and English speakers later used Key, meaning a small island, plus West because it is the furthest west of the keys. So the town's name points to a small island at the far west of the Florida Keys.