Jump To:

• Appalachian
  Appalachian

  adjective

  of or relating to the Appalachian Mountains.
• appalachian
  appalachian

  adjective

  of, from, or relating to the Appalachian Mountains

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

---

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

A subrange of the Appalachian Mountains along the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, the Smokies are known for hiking trails with waterfalls and scenic outlooks.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 11, 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

The following day, they return to D.C. to say goodbye to the Trumps and will visit a national park in the Appalachian mountains to meet indigenous Americans.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 27, 2026

If sewage made it into the Appalachian springsnail’s habitat, “that would kill it straight dead,” Dillon said.

From Slate • Apr. 27, 2026

With her soft Appalachian accent, Justice leaves no doubt that she is a local girl, steeped in the culture of the old family cemeteries that dot the mountains here in East Kentucky.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times