local

A2 Topic:Places & Geography

US /ˈloʊ.kl̩/ UK /ˈləʊ.kl̩/ See IPA manual

Freq #1347

Meanings

1

adj
Belonging to or found in the area where you live.

We prefer to buy local produce from nearby farms.
2

adj
Relating to a particular town or district rather than a whole country.

The local council decided to build a new park.
3

adj
Affecting only one part of the body.

The dentist gave me a local anaesthetic before the procedure.
4

noun
A bus or train that stops at every station.

The local seemed to take forever to reach the city.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms locals

Etymology

From Middle English local, from Late Latin locālis (“belonging to a place”), possibly also via Old French local; ultimately from Latin locus (“a place”). The ring-theoretic senses derive from Krull, who first referred to Noetherian commutative rings with a unique maximal ideal as "Stellenring" (Stellen (“place”) + ring) in 1938. The term was inspired by algebraic geometry, where local rings encode information about the behavior of curves (surfaces, etc.) at points; hence, describe "local" behavior.

*stel- Proto-Indo-European local Middle English locālis la-lat locus Latin

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External links

# local

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** adj, noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈloʊ.kl̩/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈləʊ.kl̩/
**Frequency rank:** 1347

## Meanings
1. Belonging to or found in the area where you live.
2. Relating to a particular town or district rather than a whole country.
3. Affecting only one part of the body.
4. A bus or train that stops at every station.

## Examples
- We prefer to buy local produce from nearby farms.
- The local council decided to build a new park.
- The dentist gave me a local anaesthetic before the procedure.
- The local seemed to take forever to reach the city.

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *stel-
- Root: local
- Root: locālis
- Root: locus

## Etymology
From Middle English local, from Late Latin locālis (“belonging to a place”), possibly also via Old French local; ultimately from Latin locus (“a place”). The ring-theoretic senses derive from Krull, who first referred to Noetherian commutative rings with a unique maximal ideal as "Stellenring" (Stellen (“place”) + ring) in 1938. The term was inspired by algebraic geometry, where local rings encode information about the behavior of curves (surfaces, etc.) at points; hence, describe "local" behavior.

## AI Etymology
Local comes from Middle English local, from Late Latin locālis (“belonging to a place”), possibly also via Old French local; ultimately from Latin locus (“a place”). The ring-theoretic senses derive from Krull, who first referred to Noetherian commutative rings with a unique maximal ideal as "Stellenring" (Stellen (“place”) + ring) in 1938. The term was inspired by algebraic geometry, where local rings encode information about the behavior of curves (surfaces, etc.) at points; hence, describe "local" behavior. In present-day English its meanings include belonging to or found in the area where you live, relating to a particular town or district rather than a whole country, and affecting only one part of the body. The historical chain runs through *stel- (Proto-Indo-European), local (Middle English), locālis (Late Latin), local (Old French), and locus (Latin).

## Topics
- Places & Geography

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local

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