arctic
/ˈɑɹ(k).tɪk/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.03 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Alternative letter-case form of Arctic.
noun
Alternative letter-case form of Arctic.
adj
Pertaining to the celestial north pole, or to the pole star.
adj
Pertaining to the northern polar region of the planet, characterised by extreme cold and an icy landscape.
adj
Extremely cold, snowy, or having other properties of extreme winter associated with the climate of the Arctic.
adj
Designed for use in very cold conditions.
name
A continental region consisting of the portion of the Earth north of the Arctic Circle, containing the North Pole.
Example Sentences
- "What neede the artick people loue star-light, To whom the sunne shines both by day and night."
- "[…] on th’ other side Incenc’t with indignation Satan stood Unterrifi’d, and like a Comet burn’d, That fires the length of Ophiucus huge In th’ Artick Sky, and from his horrid hair Shakes Pestilence and Warr."
- "A medical examination determined who was to be sent on to Norilsk in the Arctic."
- "See freedom smiling thro’ the realms of frost, And glow on Labradore’s inclement coast, Tho’ darkness sheds deep night thro’ half the year, And snow invests the clime,—that clime is dear, For there fair liberty resides, and there At large the native breasts the searching air, Where blows the arctic tempests icy gale, And famine seizes on the spermy whale,"
- "‘Could you close that window, please!’ Strickland called, dialling again. ‘It's bloody arctic down this end.’"
- "Arctic gear"
Etymology
From Middle English artik, artyk (with the c reintroduced after Latin in the 17th century), from Medieval Latin articus, from Latin arcticus, from Ancient Greek ἀρκτικός (arktikós, “northern, of the (Great) Bear”), from ἄρκτος (árktos, “bear, Ursa Major”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ŕ̥tḱos (“bear”). Cognate with Latin ursus.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: artik, articus, arcticus, ἀρκτικός, *h₂ŕ̥tḱos
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈɑɹ(k).tɪk/
- British English: /ˈɑː(k).tɪk/