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Appalachian

American  
[ap-uh-lay-chuhn, -lay-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:

I’d been baptized and raised in a mainstream Kentucky Protestant church, but my father had shared childhood stories of snake handling and speaking in tongues in his Pentecostal Appalachian congregation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

“I’m very, very proud of the fact that I had the kind of parents that I did, and grew up in the Smoky Mountains, the Appalachian Mountains,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026

It now attracts four million visitors a year and employs more than 4,000 people, bringing much-needed economic support for the struggling communities of the Appalachian Mountains.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

"The truth is, she supports everybody," said Phillips, who grew up in the North Carolina mountains "across the holler" from Parton's Appalachian Tennessee.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

If it weren’t that volunteers from the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club maintain 80 percent of the park’s trails, including the whole of the AT through the park, the situation would be much worse.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

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