Boondocks

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A remote or rural area, often perceived as isolated or lacking modern conveniences
2. An out-of-the-way location, typically far from urban centers and amenities
3. An undeveloped region characterized by a sparse population and limited infrastructure

Etymology: The word began as a Tagalog word that American soldiers picked up in the Philippines. Tagalog "bundok" means "mountain," and it was the mountainous and rural countryside of the Philippines that American troops were posted to during the Philippine–American War, which followed the Spanish–American War, in the 1910s. Soldiers serving under the United States Military Government in the islands adopted the term for the hinterland beyond the towns. The word's trip back into American speech came during World War II. "Boondockers" was U.S. services slang from 1944 for field boots suited to rough terrain, and the same military vocabulary kept the sense of wild, remote country alive. The plural "boondocks" is the form that caught on for the remote area itself. Vietnam War troops later shortened it to "boonies" by 1964, applying it to the rural areas of Vietnam as opposed to Saigon. The same remote-country meaning carried through each stage, from mountains to field boots to back country.

Synonyms: backwoods, bush, wilderness

Antonyms: urban, city, metropolis