montane
UK /ˈmɒnteɪn/ · US /mɑnˈteɪn/ adjective, noun
Forms montanes
- adjective (ecology) Of, inhabiting, or growing in mountain areas; specifically, the cool, moist upland slopes below the timberline.
- noun (ecology) An animal or a plant of a montane habitat.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology
The adjective is derived from Latin montānus (“of or pertaining to a mountain”). Synchronically, it can be seen to have the suffix English -ane (variant of -an (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives)). Montānus is derived from mōns (“mount, mountain”) (from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to stand out, to tower”)) + -ānus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’).
The noun is probably derived from the adjective.
Sources: Wiktionary — from the Wiktionary entry “montane”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details