Climate

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈklaɪ.mɪt/

Definitions

1. The typical weather patterns and conditions that characterize a particular region over an extended period of time
2. The general weather conditions, including temperature and precipitation, prevalent in a certain area over a long duration can significantly shape local ecosystems and human activities
3. The long-term atmospheric conditions, including temperature and precipitation patterns, that define a specific geographical area create distinct environmental contexts

Etymology: The Greek "klima" originally meant a slope or inclination, and it was used by ancient geographers for a band of latitude. Because the sun strikes the earth at a steeper or shallower angle as you move north or south, each band had its own characteristic temperature and seasons. Ancient astronomers divided the inhabited world into these bands, and the sense of a region defined by its typical conditions grew directly out of that geography. The word reached Latin as "clima" and then Old French as "climat", and English borrowed it in the Middle Ages as "climat". At that stage it still meant a zone of the earth, not the weather itself. The modern sense of the prevailing conditions in a place over long periods developed later, as the older idea of a latitudinal belt gave way to a general concept of a region's typical atmosphere.

Synonyms: weather, atmosphere, environment, conditions, temperature

Antonyms: chaos, disorder, instability