transcription, транскрипция: [ mɔ:l ]
noun (Lifestyle and Leisure) A covered shopping precinct, usually situated outside a town and provided with car-parking facilities and other amenities. Etymology: A mall has meant 'a covered or sheltered walk' since the eighteenth century; some towns have the evidence of this historical usage in the name of a particular street or promenade, but this is usually pronounced /--/. The shopping mall is a specialized use of this sense. History and Usage: A well-established concept in North America (where they were first written about in the late sixties), malls were tried in the UK during the seventies, but with little success. In the eighties, however, increasing traffic congestion and parking problems in large towns, as well as the changeover to the megastore approach to shopping, meant that the mall became increasingly popular. In the UK the longer term shopping mall is still commoner than mall alone. Most striking is the way individually-designed shop fronts spill over into the malls themselves. Which? Aug. 1989, p. 406 The downtown Los Angeles car wash used in the original [film] was recently torn down and replaced by a mini-mall. People 19 Feb. 1990, p. 51 Telecommuting will also be promoted, along with no-go zones for cars, pedestrian shopping malls and park-and-ride schemes. BBC Wildlife July 1990, p. 456