Make Your Point > Archived Issues > HINTERLAND

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explore the archives: Today's "hinterland" describes remote places, far from cities and towns. It's a less intense version of our recent two-word Latin term, "_____ _________," meaning "unknown lands" or "uncharted territory." Can you recall it? make your point with... "HINTERLAND" German for "behind land," the hinterland is the back country: the land beyond the cities and towns that's far away and possibly unexplored. Figuratively, it's the distant, unknown area of anything. Pronunciation: HIN ter land Part of speech: Countable noun. (Countable nouns, like "bottle," "piece," and "decision," are words for things that can be broken into exact units. You talk about "a bottle," "three pieces," and "many decisions." Likewise, talk about the hinterland, a hinterland, or the hinterlands.) Other forms: The plural, "hinterlands," is used just as often as the singular. Some people use "hinterland" as an adjective, too, as in "hinterland Arkansas." How to use it: To be literal, talk about your cousins who moved out to the hinterlands, the beauty of the night sky as seen only in the hinterlands, the place where the suburbs give way to a hinterland, and so on. Used literally, "hinterland" can have a positive tone ("a pristine hinterland") or a negative one ("the yokels out in the hinterlands"). To be figurative, talk about the hinterland(s) of something, or the hinterland(s) beyond something, or a hinterland between things, meaning the part of something that very few people know about: "the hinterland of your subconscious," "the hinterlands of these obscure poems," "the hinterland between right and wrong," "a hinterland between truth and fiction," "a hinterland beyond even the advanced game strategies most professional players know." examples: During my first year as an in-home tutor, it occurred to me as I drove out to a client's house in the Texan hinterlands that I'd better set some geographical limits. With your earliest memories, the ones lingering in the misty hinterlands of your mind, it can be hard to know whether they're really your own, or if you've cobbled them together from pictures and stories. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "hinterland" means when you can explain it without saying "backwoods" or "sparsely populated area." try it out: Think of a place that seems (or seemed) mysterious to you, and fill in the blanks: "(A certain place) is/was a (pristine / mysterious / distant / lawless, etc.) hinterland to me." Example: "The sixth floor of the university library was a vast and silent hinterland to me; I had a creepy feeling that if I walked too far along the narrow rows of books there, I would disappear." before you review: Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first. When it comes to word roots, everybody knows what some of them mean, like “ambi/amphi” (“both”) and “circum” (“around”) and “hetero” (“different”). This knowledge helps you explain why words like “automobile” and “autobiography” look similar—in this case, it’s because they both involve the concept of “self.” But what about some of the less obvious roots? Could you explain, for example, why “contain” looks so much like “sustain” by defining “tain”? This month, we're exploring the meanings underlying common words you know. You can usually figure these out by looking for an extremely basic concept common to all the words in each group. We’ll start with easier, more obvious roots and move on to trickier ones as the month goes on! Yesterday's question:  In accord, concord, cordial, core, and discord, what does “cord” mean? Answer: Heart.  Try this one today:  In amends, amendment, emend, mendicant, and mendacious, what does “mend” mean?  review today's word: 1. The opposite of HINTERLAND is A. BOUNDARY B. CONTINENT C. METROPOLIS 2.  A _____ is one of the ways to view the island's hinterlands. A. helicopter tour B. scuba diving lesson C. guided museum tour Answers are below. a final word: To be a sponsor and send your own message to readers of this list, please contact Liesl at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: Word meanings presented here are expressed in plain language and are limited to common, useful applications only. Readers interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words are encouraged to check a dictionary. Likewise, word meanings, usage, and pronunciations are limited to American English; these elements may vary across world Englishes. Answers to review questions: 1. C 2. A