Arctic

Arctic proper adj

OFr < L. < Gk 'the northern bear', referring to the constellation Ursa Major.

1. Icy; snow-white; tundra; permafrost; north pole; wintry zone; farthest from the Equator; [poss.] Indian Pipe; Ice Plant; Corpse Plant; Death Plant; Monotropa uniflora; [fig.] lonely; solitary; isolated; reclusive poet.
2. Northernmost zone of the earth; uppermost circle of the earth; blinding white landscape; uninhabitable land with a freezing climate; [fig.] tragic; bleak; hopeless; desperate; desolate; impossible; unbearable; fruitless; futile; losing; failed; in vain; without desirable results.
3. Cold; cool; frigid; chilly north wind; [fig.] stoic; stolid; dispassionate; (see ED letters).