circumpolar

[ sur-kuh m-poh-ler ]

/ ˌsɜr kəmˈpoʊ lər /

adjective

around or near a pole, as of the earth.

Nearby words

Origin of circumpolar

First recorded in 1680–90; circum- + polar

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

Examples from the Web for circumpolar

"They are the highest mountains in the circumpolar regions," replied Barbican.
All Around the Moon|Jules Verne
Alces machlis, the Elk or Moose, is a circumpolar species with palmated antlers and is of large size.
The Cambridge Natural History, Vol X., Mammalia|Frank Evers Beddard
The seasons, again, are less marked in the tropics than in temperate and circumpolar climates.
Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, December 1898|Various
Bones of the musk-ox found in the frozen soil of Siberia indicate that it formerly had a circumpolar distribution.
North America|Israel C. Russell

When are the circumpolar constellations visible in northern latitudes?
The Chautauquan, Vol. III, March 1883|The Chautauquan Literary and Scientific Circle

British Dictionary definitions for circumpolar

circumpolar

/ (ˌsɜːkəmˈpəʊlə) /

adjective

(of a star or constellation) visible above the horizon at all times at a specified locality on the earth's surface

surrounding or located at or near either of the earth's poles

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 circumpolar

circumpolar

adj.

1680s in astronomy; 1690s in geography, from circum- + polar.

Science definitions for circumpolar

circumpolar

[ sûr′kəm-pō′lər ]

Located or found in one of Earth's polar regions.

Denoting a star that from a given observer's latitude does not go below the horizon during its diurnal motion. The closer an observer is to one of the poles, the greater the portion of the sky that contains circumpolar stars. At the pole itself, all stars are circumpolar.