Transbaikal

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. Of or pertaining to the area lying east of Lake Baikal in southeastern Siberia
2. Belonging to or characteristic of the territory on the far side of Lake Baikal in Russia
3. Describing the region that extends beyond Lake Baikal toward the Pacific coast of Russia

Etymology: Transbaikal is a region of southeastern Siberia, and its name is a translation rather than a native coinage. The Russian name Zabaykalye means "beyond the Baikal," formed from "za" (beyond) and "Baikal," the great freshwater lake in the same part of Russia. English took that sense and built it from Latin-derived "trans" (across, beyond) joined to the lake's name, so the English word is a calque: the same meaning rebuilt piece by piece in another language. The result is a geographic label that describes a place by its position relative to the lake. Anyone standing on the Irkutsk side of Baikal would be "on this side," and the region lies on the far, eastern side of it. The word therefore carries a viewpoint built into it, one that assumes the lake as the reference point.