Meaning
In traditional New Orleans English, banquette means a sidewalk, a French-heritage local word that remains documented in the city even though younger speakers may know it less often than earlier generations did.
How it is used
Tulane University research on New Orleans dialects identifies banquette as a once-common French-heritage word meaning sidewalk and notes that younger speakers may not recognize it. The City of New Orleans Vieux Carré Virtual Library independently defines banquette simply as sidewalk in its architectural glossary.
Examples
- “They stood on the banquette outside the house.”
- “Older neighborhood descriptions may call the sidewalk a banquette.”
Pronunciation
/bæŋˈkɛt/ · bang-KET
Tone and register
Neutral and place-specific. Today it can sound traditional, heritage-marked, or older-fashioned depending on the speaker and neighborhood context.
Visitor guidance
Recognize banquette when reading local history or hearing older New Orleans speech, but do not assume every resident uses it today. For current permits, accessibility, or city services, the City generally uses the standard English word sidewalk.
Cultural context
Banquette preserves part of New Orleans’ long French-language contact history inside local English. Its uneven survival across generations is also a useful reminder that local vocabulary changes rather than remaining frozen as a tourist glossary.
Places represented
Open the reviewed place guide for each regional sense carried by this canonical entry.