Transatlantic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to or spanning across the Atlantic Ocean, often referring to travel, communication, or connections between continents bordering this ocean
2. Describing things that involve crossing the Atlantic, such as flights, voyages, or cultural exchanges between North America and Europe
3. Pertaining to activities, routes, or relationships that extend over or connect locations on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean

Etymology: Ancient Greek speakers called the sea beyond the Pillars of Heracles "Atlantikos," after Atlas, the Titan who held up the sky. The Greek name for the ocean itself was Atlantikos pelagos, "Atlas's sea," and Latin borrowed it as "atlanticus." English took the adjective through Middle English "Atlantyke" and then "Atlantic," so the sea was named for a mythical giant long before anyone sailed across it. "Transatlantic" is a plain compound: the Latin prefix "trans-," meaning "across" or "on the other side of," joined to "Atlantic." Its literal sense is therefore simply "across the Atlantic," and it describes anything that crosses that ocean, from a voyage to a telegraph cable to a trade route.

Synonyms: cross-ocean, oceanic, international, intercontinental, global