baltic
/ˈbɔl.tɪk/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.57 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Of or pertaining to the Baltic region or the Baltic Sea.
adj
Of or pertaining to any of the Baltic languages.
adj
Of or pertaining to the Balts (the Baltic peoples).
name
The Baltic Sea.
name
A geographic region of Northern Europe, surrounding the Baltic Sea.
name
A geographic region of Northern Europe, consisting of the three countries to the east of the Baltic Sea, i.e. Latvia, Lithuanian and Estonia; in full, the Baltics or the Baltic states.
name
The Baltic language family; the Baltic languages
Example Sentences
- "In the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, three of the Soviet Union's fifteen constituent republics, last year's most dangerous fantasies have been sanctioned by the government itself."
- "The Teutonic Knights were newly established in the Baltic region, where they owed their first possessions to Mazovian policy."
- "The Baltic division of the group embraces the Lithuanian and Lettic."
- "It's twenty-three degrees outside, freezing is thirty two and with the wind chill factor it's Baltic out there."
- "Apart from anything else, it's absolutely Baltic outside. In the past 24 hours, a freeze has abruptly descended on the whole of Europe, and here in the northwest corner of France, the cold claws of the Atlantic are particularly sharp."
- "Baltic weather and a bobbly pitch notwithstanding, Celtic played in a pretty low gear for most of this game no matter a final scoreline made all the more impressive through two goals scored deep into time added-on."
Etymology
From Latin Balticus, from Latin Balthae (“dwellers near the Baltic sea”); equivalent to Balt + -ic. The ultimate origin of the ethnonym is unknown, but possibilities include: * Related to Lithuanian baltas (“white”) and Proto-Slavic *bolto (“swamp, bog, mud”), which are likely from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel(H)- (“white”) via Proto-Balto-Slavic *bálˀtas (“white”). This supposes a semantic shift in Baltic from “white” to something like “marsh” or “sea”, paralleling that in the Slavic cognate. (However, the only such parallels attested from Baltic occur in Lithuanian balà (“swamp, mire, morass; puddle”) and Latvian bala (“loamy valley without trees, swamp, depression”), which are not only semantically more distant but crucially lack the *-t- suffix.) On the other hand, similar words for “swamp, marsh” throughout Europe have been considered substrate words; more at *bolto and baltë. * From a hypothetical derivative of Proto-Germanic *baltijaz (itself borrowed from Latin balteus (“belt”)), originally referring to the Danish straits, "the Belts". This is suggested by Adam of Bremen, who in the 11th century first recorded the name (Balticus, eo quod in modum baltei longo tractu per Scithicas regiones tendatur usque in Greciam). All of these options involve a great deal of speculation, however. More on Wikipedia.
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈbɔl.tɪk/
- British English: /ˈbɒl.tɪk/
Usage
- British usage
- Colloquial
Inflected Forms
more Baltic (comparative)
most Baltic (superlative)
Phrases
Baltic pine
Baltic languages
Baltic region
Baltic Sea
Baltic Shield
Balto-Slavic
Old Prussian
New Prussian