Underground Railroad
8
4.1
- noun
- /ˌʌndərˈɡraʊnd ˈreɪlroʊd/
:
Ferrocarril Subterráneo
- Founded in 1849 by a former slave, Siloam Presbyterian Church soon became an active stop on the Underground Railroad.
- a stop on the Underground Railroad
Examples
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Some of the individuals interviewed were able to share oral history about the Underground Railroad.
Academic text (2005) -
Will Spencer has been a driver for the Underground Railroad since he was twelve years old.
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... provides a map showing hundreds of locations related to the Underground Railroad.
Academic text (2014) -
Will Spencer has been a driver for the Underground Railroad since he was twelve years old.
Academic text (2002) -
Most Pine Mountain residents know the story of the Station Master who helped slaves escape to freedom as part of the Underground Railroad.
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Historians say tens of thousands of slaves reached freedom on the Underground Railroad.
Fiction book (1999) -
Harriet Tubman led the way for hundreds through the Underground Railroad.
Fiction book (2001) -
The most famous Black leader of the Underground Railroad was Harriet Tubman, who helped about 30 slaves escape.
Fiction book (1999) -
Most Pine Mountain residents know the story of the Station Master who helped enslaved African Americans escape to freedom as part of the Underground Railroad.
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Tubman is also known for her efforts to help enslaved African Americans escape via the Underground Railroad.
Synonyms
A secret U.S. network that helped enslaved people escape to free states or Canada before the Civil War
Surface Forms
Morphology
A B1 learner who knows 'underground' (clandestine) and 'railroad' (network/transport system) can likely infer a 'secret network' from the constituents, so the basic notion of a clandestine transport or network is transparent. However, the specific historical meaning (the 19th-century network that helped enslaved people escape) and the metaphorical extension to help migrants/refugees are not fully predictable from the parts and could be misunderstood as a literal subterranean railway, so the expression is only partially compositional.
Etymology
Underground Railroad comes from a secret network that helped enslaved people reach free states and Canada before the American Civil War. Helpers used train words like 'conductors' for guides and 'stations' for safe houses, and because the routes were hidden or underground and moved people like a railroad, the image of secret trains carrying people to freedom explains the name.