San Francisco

San Fran·cis·co  (sn frn-ssk)

A city of western California on a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, an inlet of the Pacific. A Spanish presidio and mission were founded here in 1776. The first settlement was known as Yerba Buena, and the name was changed to San Francisco after control of the town passed to the United States in 1846. Discovery of gold nearby in 1848 changed the city from a small community into a thriving boom town known for its lawlessness and bawdy amusements. The city was all but destroyed by a devastating earthquake and fire on April 18, 1906. Population: 744,000.

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San Fran·ciscan (-kn) n.

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San Francisco [ˌsæn frænˈsɪskəʊ]

n

(Placename) a port in W California, situated around the Golden Gate: developed rapidly during the California gold rush; a major commercial centre and one of the world's finest harbours. Pop.: 776 733 (2000)

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

San Francisco - a port in western California near the Golden Gate that is one of the major industrial and transportation centers; it has one of the world's finest harbors; site of the Golden Gate Bridge Golden Gate Bridge - a suspension bridge across the Golden Gate Calif., California, Golden State, CA - a state in the western United States on the Pacific; the 3rd largest state; known for earthquakes Nob Hill - a fashionable neighborhood in San Francisco San Francisco Bay - a bay of the Pacific in western California