antipode

[ an-ti-pohd ]

/ ˈæn tɪˌpoʊd /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR antipode ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a direct or exact opposite.

Nearby words

Origin of antipode

First recorded in 1540–50; back formation from antipodes

antipodes

[ an-tip-uh-deez ]

/ ænˈtɪp əˌdiz /

plural noun

places diametrically opposite each other on the globe.

those who dwell there.

Origin of antipodes

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin < Greek (hoi) antípodes literally, (those) with the feet opposite (plural of antípous), equivalent to anti- anti- + -podes, nominative plural of poûs foot

Related formsan·tip·o·de·an

[an-tip-uh-dee-uh n] /ænˌtɪp əˈdi ən/, adjective, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for antipode

It is the antipode to the hand of those who have large, lovable natures.
The World I Live In|Helen Keller
Would not this science be the antipode (some would say antidote) of the mystic dreams of Plato and of Delsarte himself?
Delsarte System of Oratory|Various
It does not, however, attain the dimensions of its antipode, rarely exceeding those of a large shrub.
The Romance of Natural History, Second Series|Philip Henry Gosse
Calhoun, one of the firmest props of the government, was his antipode in almost every particular.
The Second War with England, Vol. 1 of 2|J. T. Headley.

The finite was self-arrayed against the infinite, the mortal against immortality, and a sinner was the antipode of God.
Retrospection and Introspection|Mary Baker Eddy

British Dictionary definitions for antipode

antipode

/ (ˈæntɪpəʊd) /

noun

the exact or direct opposite

antipodes

/ (ænˈtɪpəˌdiːz) /

pl n

either or both of two points, places, or regions that are situated diametrically opposite to one another on the earth's surface, esp the country or region opposite one's own

the people who live there

the antipodes (often capital) Australia and New Zealand

(sometimes functioning as singular) the exact or direct opposite

Derived Formsantipodean (ænˌtɪpəˈdiːən), adjective, noun

Word Origin for antipodes

C16: via Late Latin from Greek, plural of antipous having the feet opposite, from anti- + pous foot

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for antipode

antipodes

late 14c., "persons who dwell on the opposite side of the globe;" 1540s as "place on the opposite side of the earth," from Latin antipodes "those who dwell on the opposite side of the earth," from Greek antipodes, plural of antipous "with feet opposite (ours)," from anti- "opposite" (see anti-) + pous "foot" (see foot (n.)); thus, people who live on the opposite side of the world.

Yonde in Ethiopia ben the Antipodes, men that haue theyr fete ayenst our fete. ["De Proprietatibus Rerum Bartholomeus Anglicus," translated by John of Trevisa, 1398]

Not to be confused with antiscii "those who live on the same meridian on opposite side of the equator," whose shadows fall at noon in the opposite direction, from Greek anti- + skia "shadow." Related: Antipodal (adj.); antipodean (1630s, n.; 1650s, adj.).