Antarktik

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to the region around the South Pole, including the continent of Antarctica and the surrounding ocean
2. Describing the southernmost polar zone of the Earth, centered on the South Pole and its icy continent
3. Of or belonging to the frigid southern polar area that surrounds the South Pole and its ice-covered land

Etymology: Ancient Greek sailors and astronomers named the north after the bear. "Arktos" meant "bear," and it referred to the constellations of the Great and Little Bear, which circle the North Star. "Antarktikos" simply meant "opposite the bear," so the southern pole was defined by its contrast with the northern one, not by any feature of its own. Latin borrowed the Greek term as "antarcticus," and it passed into Old French as "antarctique" before English adopted it during the Middle Ages. Chaucer used the form in his treatise on the astrolabe. Because no ancient European had seen the southern polar regions, the name was a theoretical label long before anyone knew what lay there. Its meaning stayed fixed on direction, and the continent that eventually received the name was identified only much later.

Synonyms: Antarctic