Word of the Day

: October 9, 2006

antipode

noun AN-tuh-pohd

What It Means

1 : the parts of the earth diametrically opposite - usually used in plural

2 : the exact opposite or contrary

antipode in Context

"The 12 USFL teams will play every week from March 6 to July 3, the antipode of the NFL season. . . ." (Geoffrey Colvin, Fortune, March 21, 1983)

Did You Know?

We borrowed the word "antipode" over 600 years ago. It first appeared in a translation of a Latin text as a word designating "men that have their feet against our feet," that is, inhabitants of the opposite side of the globe. The word, which originated in Greek, combines "anti-," meaning "opposite," with the root "pod-," meaning "foot." "Antipode" is no longer used in English as a designation for people, but the notion of the other side of the globe lives on in its current geographical sense. We have come to use the plural term "antipodes" (pronounced \an-TIH-puh-deez) to refer to Australia and New Zealand because they are on the other side of the earth from Britain.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.