antipodes

[ an-tip-uh-deez ]

/ ænˈtɪp əˌdiz /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR antipodes ON THESAURUS.COM

plural noun

places diametrically opposite each other on the globe.

those who dwell there.

Nearby words

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

Antipodes

[ an-tip-uh-deez ]

/ ænˈtɪp əˌdiz /

noun (used with a plural verb)

a group of islands SE of and belonging to New Zealand. 24 sq. mi. (62 sq. km).

antipode

[ an-ti-pohd ]

/ ˈæn tɪˌpoʊd /

noun

a direct or exact opposite.

Origin of antipode

First recorded in 1540–50; back formation from antipodes

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

Examples from the Web for antipodes

In all this he was, of course, the antipodes of Tycho, but in mathematical skill he was greatly his superior.
Pioneers of Science|Oliver Lodge
The Mobility are the antipodes to the Nobility: the one race of men being at the top of the world, the other at the bottom of it.
Portraits of Children of The Mobility|Percival Leigh
In 1519 Magellan made his famous voyage and proved the earth to be round and that men actually lived in the antipodes.
The Necessity of Atheism|Dr. D.M. Brooks
He had travelled through the axis of the earth to the antipodes, which actually did hang head downward.
Atlantis|Gerhart Hauptmann

If I travel, aunt, I touch at your antipodes—your antipodes are a good rascally sort of topsy-turvy fellows.
The Way of the World|William Congreve

British Dictionary definitions for antipodes

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

antipode

/ (ˈæntɪpəʊd) /

noun

the exact or direct opposite

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 antipodes

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.).