Arctic

Meanings

Adjective

• Pertaining to the celestial north pole, or to the pole star.
• Pertaining to the northern polar region of the planet, characterised by extreme cold and an icy landscape.
• Extremely cold, snowy, or having other properties of extreme winter associated with the Arctic.
• Designed for use in very cold conditions.

Proper Noun

• The north celestial pole.
• The region of the Earth above the Arctic Circle, containing the North Pole.

Noun

• A warm waterproof overshoe.
• Any of various butterflies of the genus Oeneis (species).

Origin

• From Middle French artique (with -c- reintroduced after Latin in the 17th century), from Latin arcticus, from Ancient Greek ἀρκτικός, from ἄρκτος, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ŕ̥tḱos. Cognate to Latin ursus.