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Appalachian

American  
[ap-uh-ley-chuhn, -ley-chee-uhn, -lach-ee-uhn, lach-uhn] / ˌæp əˈleɪ tʃən, -ˈleɪ tʃi ən, -ˈlætʃ i ən, ˈlætʃ ən /

adjective

  1. of or relating to the Appalachian Mountains.

  2. of or relating to the region of Appalachia, its inhabitants, or their culture.

  3. Geology. of or relating to the orogeny and accompanying intrusion that occurred in eastern North America during the Pennsylvanian and Permian periods.


noun

  1. a native or inhabitant of Appalachia, especially one of predominantly Scotch-Irish, English, or German ancestry who exemplifies the characteristic cultural traditions of this region.

appalachian British  
/ ˌæpəˈleɪtʃɪən /

adjective

  1. of, from, or relating to the Appalachian Mountains

  2. geology of or relating to an episode of mountain building in the late Palaeozoic era during which the Appalachian Mountains were formed

"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

Etymology

Origin of Appalachian

First recorded in 1670–80; from Spanish Apalchen, Apalachen, perhaps from Apalachee (an extinct Muskogean language) abalahci “other side of the river” or from Hitchiti (an extinct Muskogean language) apalwahči “dwelling on one side”; the Spanish transcription of the name of a Muskogean village near Tallahassee in the Florida panhandle, recorded on the expedition led by Pánfilo de Narváez (1478?–1528), later altered by the Spanish to Apalachee and applied to the Indian tribe, the surrounding area and the hinterland north to the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

That’s the Appalachian landscape that Baurichter, a writer and stay-at-home mother in Higginsport, yearned to return to after a stint in Cincinnati for college.

From Salon Jul. 9, 2026

The interior American west, with its inhospitable landscape, was more akin to the Appalachian wilderness and attracted individuals with similarly rugged individualistic views.

From BBC Jul. 4, 2026

He simply wrote it at a different time, when he was most famous, still, as a memoirist for Hillbilly Elegy, the story of his chaotic Appalachian upbringing.

From Slate Jun. 18, 2026

In a lot behind a disused West Virginia gas station at the foot of the Appalachian Mountains, Roy Funkhouser is surrounded by about a dozen beekeepers and countless buzzing bees.

From Barron's May 19, 2026

I was still going to hike the Appalachian Trail; I just wasn’t going to hike all of it.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

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