Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Mount Tacoma

Mount Tacoma

7.9
An old name for Mount Rainier, a high mountain in Washington State
  • proper noun
  • /maʊnt təˈkoʊmə/
  • Archaic
translation icon : Monte Tacoma
  • The snow-capped summit of Mount Tacoma is visible from many parts of Seattle.

Examples

  • Some local activists campaigned to restore the original name, Mount Tacoma.

  • Did you know that Mount Tacoma was once called Tahoma?

  • In older maps, Mount Tacoma is shown instead of Mount Rainier.

  • Many people hike up Mount Tacoma every summer.

  • In older maps, Mount Tacoma is shown instead of Mount Rainier.

  • Some local activists campaigned to restore the original name, Mount Tacoma.

  • Did you know that Mount Tacoma was once called Tahoma?

Synonyms

Rainier
vsMount Tacoma
18 6.4

A tall mountain in central Washington State covered in snow and the highest peak in the Cascade Range

is the older alternative name rather than the short familiar name
Mount Rainier
vsMount Tacoma
2 4.1

A very high mountain in Washington state, USA, highest in the Cascade Range

is the older alternative name rather than this modern formal name
Mt. Rainier
vsMount Tacoma
3.5

The highest mountain in Washington state, USA, with snow on top

is the older alternative name compared with this shortened written form

Surface Forms

Mount Tacoma main

Morphology

mount + Tacoma

The construction follows the transparent, compositional pattern Mount + proper name: a B1 learner who knows 'mount' and recognizes 'Tacoma' as a name will infer it denotes a mountain called Tacoma. The specific historical fact that it is an alternative name for Mount Rainier is lexical knowledge beyond composition, but the basic meaning (a mountain named Tacoma) is directly derivable.

Etymology

Mount Tacoma comes from a local Native word, often written Tahoma, which people used to mean 'mother of waters' or 'snow-covered mountain' because the mountain's ice and snow feed many rivers. So Mount Tacoma became an old name used by settlers and on older maps for the mountain we now call 'Mount Rainier'.