transalpine
Americanadjective
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situated beyond the Alps, especially toward the north as viewed from Italy.
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passing or extending across or through the Alps.
a transalpine railway.
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of, relating to, or characteristic of peoples or lands beyond the Alps.
noun
adjective
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situated in or relating to places beyond the Alps, esp from Italy
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passing over the Alps
noun
Etymology
Origin of transalpine
1580–90; < Latin trānsalpīnus across the Alps, equivalent to trāns- trans- + Alp ( ēs ) the Alps + -īnus -ine 1
Explanation
Use the adjective transalpine to describe people who live just north of the Alps, like your friend who lives in southern Germany. You're most likely to hear the word transalpine in a geography or earth science class. It assumes that you are looking north from Italy, toward the mountain range known as the Alps, and that you're talking about something on the far side of them. The prefix trans, "across" in Latin, along with alpine, which means "of the Alps," gives us the meaning "across the Alps."
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.
Across the platform, I spotted the scarlet cars of the Rhaetian Railway, and the wood-lined, century-old dining car of a transalpine train known as the Gourmino.
From New York Times • Apr. 6, 2023
The French president and Italian prime minister were dubbed Europe’s “new power couple” by Politico in July, amid reports of a transalpine bromance.
From Washington Post • Sep. 23, 2021
One of their more recent tasks: building the transalpine line between Trieste and Ingolstadt in Bavaria, completed last year.
From Time Magazine Archive
Through the transalpine lifeline of Switzerland's St. Gotthard rail tunnel flowed supplies between the Axis partners, Germany and Italy.
From Time Magazine Archive
To wit: that hot armigerent jealousy Stir us no further on transalpine rule, I'd take the Isonzo River as our bounds.
From The Dynasts by Hardy, Thomas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
