boulevard

[boo l-uh-vahrd, boo-luh-] /ˈbʊl əˌvɑrd, ˈbu lə-/
noun
1.
a broad avenue in a city, usually having areas at the sides or center for trees, grass, or flowers.
2.
Also called boulevard strip. Upper Midwest. a strip of lawn between a sidewalk and the curb.
Origin
1765-75; < French, Middle French (orig. Picard, Walloon): rampart, avenue built on the site of a razed rampart < Middle Dutch bol(le)werc; see bulwark
Synonyms
See street.
Examples from the web for boulevard
  • The original ring was a tree-lined boulevard that traced the path of the city's ancient outer wall.
  • Cruise ships dock here regularly, spilling hundreds of tourists onto the main waterfront boulevard.
  • The pic shows that the boulevard around the corner is a pretty barren wasteland, tree-wise.
  • Sunset boulevard is considered to be the first to employ such extreme cynicism.
British Dictionary definitions for boulevard

boulevard

/ˈbuːlvɑː; -vɑːd/
noun
1.
  1. a wide usually tree-lined road in a city, often used as a promenade
  2. (capital as part of a street name): Sunset Boulevard
2.
(mainly Canadian)
  1. a grass strip between the pavement and road
  2. the strip of ground between the edge of a private property and the road
  3. the centre strip of a road dividing traffic travelling in different directions
Word Origin
C18: from French, from Middle Dutch bolwercbulwark; so called because originally often built on the ruins of an old rampart
Word Origin and History for boulevard
n.

1769, from French boulevard (15c.), originally "top surface of a military rampart," from a garbled attempt to adopt Middle Dutch bolwerc "wall of a fortification" (see bulwark) into French, which lacks a -w-. The notion is of a promenade laid out atop demolished city walls, a way which would be much wider than urban streets. Originally in English with conscious echoes of Paris; since 1929, in U.S., used of multi-lane limited-access urban highways. Early French attempts to digest the Dutch word also include boloart, boulever, boloirque, bollvercq.