hyperborean
/,haipə:bɔ:'ri:ən/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun:
- (Greek mythology) A member of a legendary race: In ancient Greek mythology, a Hyperborean was believed to be one of a people living in a perfect, idyllic land far to the north, beyond the reach of the north wind (Boreas). This land was described as being perpetually warm, sunny, and blessed with abundance.
- (Literary/Archaic) A native of the extreme north; an inhabitant of a cold northern region: Used in a more general, often poetic sense to refer to someone from a very cold northern area.
Adjective:
- Of or relating to the extreme north; frigid; northern: Describing something as being of, from, or characteristic of the far north, especially in a cold or remote sense.
- Of or relating to the mythical Hyperboreans: Pertaining to the legendary race or their idyllic northern land.
Usage Examples
Noun:
- In the myth, Apollo was said to visit the Hyperboreans during the winter months.
- The explorer, bundled in furs, looked like a modern Hyperborean in the Arctic wastes.
Adjective:
- They endured the hyperborean climate of the tundra.
- The poet wrote of a hyperborean paradise, a land of eternal spring beyond the ice.
Advanced Usage
Capitalization: The word is often capitalized ("Hyperborean") when referring specifically to the mythological race or their land.
- The Hyperborean legends fascinated classical scholars.
Figurative/Literary Use: Used figuratively to describe something as extremely cold, distant, or mystically remote.
- Her demeanor was of a hyperborean coolness, impossible to penetrate.
Variants and Related Words
- Hyperboreanism (n, rare): The state or quality of being Hyperborean; belief in or reference to the Hyperboreans.
- Boreas (n): The Greek god of the north wind, from which the "-borean" part of "Hyperborean" is derived (literally "beyond Boreas").
Synonyms
- Northern (adj): Of, relating to, or characteristic of the north.
- Arctic (adj): Pertaining to the region around the North Pole; extremely cold.
- Polar (adj): Of or relating to a geographic pole; extremely cold.
- (For the noun) Northerner (n): A native or inhabitant of the north.
Antonyms
- Austral (adj, literary): Southern.
- Equatorial (adj): Of, at, or near the equator.
Related Phrases & Idioms
- (No common idioms directly incorporate "hyperborean." Its use is primarily literal, mythological, or literary.)
Noun
- (Greek mythology) one of a people that the ancient Greeks believed lived in a warm and sunny land north of the source of the north wind