armorican
|ar-mor-i-can|
🇺🇸
/ɑrˈmɔrɪkən/
🇬🇧
/ɑːˈmɒrɪkən/
of or from Armorica (coastal Brittany region)
Etymology
'armorican' ultimately originates from the Gaulish place-name element 'are-mori-ka' (recorded in Latin as 'Armorica'), where the Gaulish prefix 'are-' meant 'in front of' or 'by' and 'mori' meant 'sea' (so roughly 'place by the sea').
'are-mori-ka' (Gaulish) was Latinized as 'Armorica'; Old French rendered it as 'Armorique', and Middle English forms such as 'Armorike' or 'Armorica' led to the modern English adjective and noun 'armorican' (and the variant 'Armoric').
Initially it denoted the geographic region 'land by the sea' (Armorica); over time it evolved into an adjective and noun meaning 'of or from Armorica' and more generally 'relating to the historic/coastal region now associated with Brittany.'
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a native or inhabitant of Armorica; historically, a person from the coastal region of north‑west Gaul (later Brittany).
Several armorican artifacts in the collection came from local tombs.
Synonyms
Adjective 1
relating to Armorica (the ancient/medieval region of north‑west Gaul, roughly corresponding to modern Brittany and adjacent areas); pertaining to its people, culture, language, geography, or history.
The lecture focused on armorican settlement patterns during the Iron Age.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2025/10/17 00:38