arctic

B2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈɑɹ(k)tɪk/ UK /ˈɑː(k)tɪk/ See IPA manual

Freq #8720

Meanings

1

adj
Relating to the cold region around the North Pole.

Polar bears live in the Arctic regions.
2

adj
Extremely cold.

We went out into the arctic wind without our coats.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · relating to the cold region... north-polar

2 adj · extremely cold. polar

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

arctic climate
a climate characteristic of the far north, with very cold conditions

Adjective + noun

Simplified etymology

Arctic ultimately comes from Greek arktos, meaning “bear.” The reference is to the Great Bear constellation, Ursa Major, which is visible in the northern sky, rather than to polar bears.

Etymology

From Middle English artik, artyk (with -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.

artik Middle English arcticus Latin ἀρκτικός Ancient Greek *h₂ŕ̥tḱos Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

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# arctic

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈɑɹ(k)tɪk/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈɑː(k)tɪk/
**Frequency rank:** 8720

## Meanings
1. Relating to the cold region around the North Pole.
2. Extremely cold.

## Examples
- Polar bears live in the Arctic regions.
- We went out into the arctic wind without our coats.

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: artik
- Root: arcticus
- Root: ἀρκτικός
- Root: *h₂ŕ̥tḱos

## Etymology
From Middle English artik, artyk (with -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.

## AI Etymology
Arctic comes from Middle English artik, artyk (with -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.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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