antarctic
UK /ænˈtɑː(k)tɪk/ · US /ænˈtɑɹ(k)tɪk/ adjective, proper noun
- adjective Of, from, or pertaining to Antarctica and the south polar regions.
- adjective (figuratively, obsolete) Opposite, contradictory.
- adjective (obsolete) Southern.
- proper noun A continental region, one of the major ecozones of the world, covering the south polar regions, especially those south of the Antarctic Convergence; or, in accordance with the Antarctic Treaty System, the 60th parallel south.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English antartik, antartyk, from Middle French antartique, from Latin antarcticus, from Ancient Greek ἀνταρκτικός (antarktikós), from ἀντί (antí, “opposite”) + ἀρκτικός (arktikós, “Arctic”) + -ικός (-ikós, “-ic”). By surface analysis, anti- + Arctic.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Opposite to the northern or arctic pole; relating to the southern pole or to the region near it, and applied especially to a circle, distant from the pole 23º 28min. Thus we say the antarctic pole, circle, ocean, region, current, etc.
Etymology [OE. antartik, OF. antartique, F. antarctique, L. antarcticus, fr. Gr. Arctic.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “antarctic”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details