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Atlantic - 4 dictionary results

At⋅lan⋅tic

  [at-lan-tik]
Use Atlantic in a Sentence
–adjective
1. of or pertaining to the Atlantic Ocean.
2. of, pertaining to, or situated on the eastern seaboard of the U.S.: the Atlantic states.
3. of or pertaining to the countries bordering the Atlantic Ocean, esp. those of North America and Europe.
4. of or pertaining to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or its members: the Atlantic Alliance.
–noun
5. Atlantic Ocean.
6. Railroads. a steam locomotive having a four-wheeled front truck, four driving wheels, and a two-wheeled rear truck.

Origin:
1350–1400; ME < L Atlanticum (mare) the Atlantic (ocean), neut. of Atlanticus < Gk Atlantikós of (Mount) Atlas, equiv. to Atlant- (s. of Átlās) + -ikos -ic
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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At·lan·tic   (āt-lān'tĭk)   
n.  The Atlantic Ocean.
adj.  
  1. Of, in, or near the Atlantic Ocean.
  2. Of, on, or near the eastern coast of the United States.
  3. Of or concerning countries bordering the Atlantic Ocean, especially those of Europe and North America.

[Middle English Atlantik, from Latin (mare) Atlanticum, Atlantic (sea), from Greek (pelagos) Atlantikos, from Atlās, Atlant-, Atlas, Mount Atlas (in west Africa, on which the heavens were believed to rest); see telə- in Indo-European roots.]
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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Atlantic

At*lan"tic\, a. [L. Atlanticus, fr. Atlas. See Atlas and Atlantes.]

1. Of or pertaining to Mt. Atlas in Libya, and hence applied to the ocean which lies between Europe and Africa on the east and America on the west; as, the Atlantic Ocean (called also the Atlantic); the Atlantic basin; the Atlantic telegraph.

2. Of or pertaining to the isle of Atlantis.

3. Descended from Atlas.

The seven Atlantic sisters. --Milton.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Atlantic 
1387, occean of athlant "sea off the west coast of Africa," from L. Atlanticus, from Gk. Atlantikos, adjectival form of Atlas (gen. Atlantos), in ref. to Mount Atlas in Mauritania (see Atlas). Applied to the whole ocean since 1601.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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