International Date Line
2
5.1
- noun
- /ˌɪntəˈnæʃənl deɪt laɪn/
:
Línea Internacional de Cambio de Fecha
- When traveling from the USA to Asia, we crossed the International Date Line and gained a day.
- cross the International Date Line
Examples
-
The student will be able to locate the International Date Line and describe how one adjusts one's calendar when crossing it.
Academic text (1994) -
She was exhausted, and not just from the hasty trip across the international date line after she'd learned about Jake's heart attack and the long vigil at the hospital in Adelaide that had followed.
Fiction book (1994) -
This line is called the International Date Line.
Academic text (1994) -
I knew it was time to introduce the International Date Line by tackling Objective 5:
Academic text (1994) -
The time in Singapore was well, no matter, it was already the next day there once you crossed the international date line.
Fiction book (1990) -
When one crosses the International Date Line going east, the day becomes a day earlier; when one crosses the International Date Line going west, the day becomes a day later.
Academic text (1994) -
When one crosses the International Date Line going east, the day becomes a day earlier; when one crosses the International Date Line going west, the day becomes a day later.
Academic text (1994) -
You know, of all the people... you and I should know if electronic money earns an extra day of interest... when it crosses an international date line.
-
You have to remember that, because of the time difference and the international date line, the very early morning in South Korea coincided with first-edition newspaper deadlines on the East Coast.
Blog text (27) -
The International Date Line is essential for travelers to understand how dates change across countries.
Synonyms
5
6.6
Imaginary line near the middle of the Pacific Ocean where the calendar date changes
1
5.7
An imaginary line near the middle of the Pacific Ocean where the calendar date changes when you cross it
Surface Forms
Morphology
international + date + line
The meaning is directly compositional: 'international' (across countries) + 'date' (calendar day) + 'line' (a dividing boundary) naturally describes a boundary where the calendar date changes. This is a technical but transparent concept and has clear equivalents in other languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would very likely infer the correct meaning.
Etymology
International Date Line is an imaginary line on the world map where the date on your calendar jumps by one day when you cross it. Countries agreed on this idea so sailors and travelers could know when to 'add a day' or 'lose a day', and that clear picture is why the name means the place where the date changes.