circumpolar

[sur-kuh m-poh-ler]

adjective

around or near a pole, as of the earth.

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

Historical Examples of circumpolar

This is not, like Ursa Major, or like Cassiopeia, said to be "circumpolar."
The Story of the Heavens
Robert Stawell Ball
In Miocene times they were abundant, and of many species in circumpolar regions.
Evolution
Joseph Le Conte
"They are the highest mountains in the circumpolar regions," replied Barbican.
All Around the Moon
Jules Verne
Cassiopeias chaire, a circumpolar constellation having a fancied resemblance to a chair.
Spenser's The Faerie Queene, Book I
Edmund Spenser
As regards the Arctic and Antarctic regions, the continuity or circumpolar distribution of the shore fishes is well established.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 14, Slice 3
Various

British Dictionary definitions for circumpolar

circumpolar

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

adj.

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

circumpolar in Science

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.