AtlasMaliTimbuktuOne word pinned hereTimbuktu16.7735°N -3.0074°W · Q9427One English word in this atlas traces back to Timbuktu. It sits in Mali.ShareAll of Mali Pinned hereTimbuktunoun · 19th centuryWell attestedA real Malian city became English shorthand for the middle of nowhere.Timbuktu was a wealthy centre of trade and scholarship on the Niger bend. European unfamiliarity turned its name into a byword for remoteness.Named from the placeRead →Nearest pinsguinea fowlGuinea, Guinea1,146 kmguinea pigGuinea, Guinea1,146 kmsenegaliteSenegal, Senegal1,237 kmguineaElmina, Ghana1,312 km