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Arctic

 - 6 dictionary results

arc·tic

   [ahrk-tik or, especially for 7, ahr-tik]
–adjective
1.
(often initial capital letter) of, pertaining to, or located at or near the North Pole: the arctic region.
2.
coming from the North Pole or the arctic region: an arctic wind.
3.
characteristic of the extremely cold, snowy, windy weather north of the Arctic Circle; frigid; bleak: an arctic winter.
4.
suitable for use in the arctic: arctic boots.
5.
extremely cold in manner, atmosphere, etc.: a look of arctic disdain.
–noun
6.
(often initial capital letter) the region lying north of the Arctic Circle or of the northernmost limit of tree growth; the polar area north of the timber line.
7.
arctics, warm, waterproof overshoes.
Use Arctic in a Sentence
Origin:
1350–1400; < L arcticus < Gk arktikós northern, lit., of the Bear, equiv. to árkt(os) bear (see Ursa Major) + -ikos -ic; r. ME artik < MF artique < L

—Related forms
arc·ti·cal·ly, adverb
su·per·arc·tic, adjective

—Can be confused: antarctic, arctic.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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Word Origin & History

arctic
late 14c., artik, from O.Fr. artique, from M.L. articus, from L. arcticus, from Gk. arktikos "of the north," lit. "of the (constellation) Bear," from arktos "bear," the Bear being a northerly constellation. From the usual I.E. base for "bear" (cf. Avestan aresho, Armenian arj, Albanian ari, L. ursus, Welsh arth); see bear (n.) for why the name changed in Germanic. The -c- was restored 1550s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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arc·tic   (ärk'tĭk, är'tĭk)   
adj.  Extremely cold; frigid. See Synonyms at cold.
n.  A warm waterproof overshoe.

[Alteration (influenced by Latin arcticus) of Middle English artic, northern, from Medieval Latin articus, from Latin arcticus, from Greek arktikos, from arktos, bear, the northern constellation Ursa Major; see tko- in Indo-European roots.]
Arc·tic   (ärk'tĭk, är'tĭk)   
A region between the North Pole and the northern timberlines of North America and Eurasia.
Arc'tic adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

Arctic

Region in the northernmost area of the Earth, centered on the North Pole.

Note: The weather of the Arctic is characterized by long, cold winters and short, cool summers.
Note: The Arctic has been the object of much exploration by air, land, and sea. The shortest distance by plane between continents in the Northern Hemisphere is often over the Arctic.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Computing Dictionary

Arctic language, music
A real-time functional language, used for music synthesis.
["Arctic: A Functional Language for Real-Time Control", R.B. Dannenberg, Conf Record 1984 ACM Symp on LISP and Functional Prog, ACM].
(1995-01-16)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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