Whatever. Around here we say "We went for a walk on the seawall today" Not "we went for a walk on the path on top/behind the seawall."
I think boardwalk is a broader term. Everybody seems to know the meaning. This is a boardwalk in front of my sister’s condo near San Diego
I would personally refer to it simply as boardwalk. In idiomatic terms, its component materials don't override or come up to the same importance as the purpose of the item. If I ask someone to hand me a bottle sitting on the counter, I say, "Pass me that bottle, please." I don't say, "Pass me that brown glass bottle."
Dunno if I was smash someone's head against a boardwalk, it's constituting material would be of relevance I suppose.
I'm fascinated with the amount of words for this simple beach walkway and the discussion emanating from it. I love how language differs so much depending on time, location, and situation.
I vote boardwalk. I live in FL, just a few minutes from the beach and we've always called it a boardwalk.
Do you ask for a bottle of beer if the beer is in a can? I get it that in some areas the local name for it is boardwalk. There really aren't a lot of options in the free thesaurus. Did anyone suggest malecon? Of course, same thing, it's a name used in Latin America but not many other places. Oh, and I should mention, usually the malecon is a walkway above the seawall rather than between the beach and the city side.
Yeah, distortion of the meaning of the word from American square dance calling. promenade [ˌpräməˈnād, ˌpräməˈnäd] NOUN a paved public walk, typically one along a waterfront at a resort.
I know this thread is four years old but a boardwalk is made of wood and its purpose is to form a path directly over wet or marshy ground. This is just a street on top of a wall and it's not even close to the water.
