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Mount McKinley

Mount McKinley

1 4.9
A tall mountain in south-central Alaska that is the highest peak in North America
  • proper noun
  • /maʊnt məˈkɪnli/
translation icon : Monte McKinley
  • Many climbers dream of reaching the summit of Mount McKinley despite its challenging weather conditions.
  • Mount McKinley in Alaska
  • the tallest Mount McKinley

Examples

  • Each year, adventurers gather in Talkeetna for their chance to climb Mount McKinley.

  • I climbed Mount McKinley last summer.

  • Before it was officially renamed Denali, Mount McKinley was widely known as the highest peak in North America.

  • From the park entrance, the snow-capped peak of Mount McKinley can sometimes be seen towering above the clouds.

  • Have you ever visited Mount McKinley?

  • The view from the summit of Mount McKinley is breathtaking, revealing vast stretches of wilderness.

  • From the base camp, climbers start their journey towards the summit of Mount McKinley.

Synonyms

McKinley
vsMount McKinley
40 5.0

A very high snow-covered mountain in south central Alaska, the tallest in North America

is the full formal name rather than this brief form
Denali
vsMount McKinley
9 5.5

The highest mountain in North America in south-central Alaska

is the former official name used historically rather than the current one
Mt. McKinley
vsMount McKinley
6.0

Former name for Denali, the highest mountain in North America in Alaska

is the full historic official name rather than the shortened form

Surface Forms

Morphology

mount + McKinley

The form 'Mount + [proper name]' is a regular, compositional naming pattern that denotes a mountain called McKinley; a B1 learner who knows 'mount' and recognizes a proper name will infer it refers to a mountain with that name even without specific factual knowledge about Denali. This headword follows cross-linguistically common toponymic conventions, so its basic meaning is directly derivable from the constituents.

Etymology

Mount McKinley was named in 1896 by a gold miner who called the highest peak after William McKinley, a U.S. politician he supported. The mountain had long been called 'Denali' by local people, meaning 'the tall one', so Mount McKinley came to mean that same famous high peak on maps and in everyday talk.