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Glite Dictionary
Mount Whitney

Mount Whitney

1 4.2
The highest mountain in California at 14,494 feet
  • proper noun
: Monte Whitney
  • Many hikers challenge themselves to climb Mount Whitney as part of their adventure in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Examples

  • With an elevation of 14,494 feet, Mount Whitney offers breathtaking views of the California landscape.

  • Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the United States.

    High Sierra (1941)

  • Climbers from all over the world come to reach the summit of Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the Sierra Nevada.

Synonyms

Whitney
vsMount Whitney
2 6.3

A mountain that is the highest peak in the Sierra Nevada in California, United States, at 14,494 feet

is the formal longer name for that same mountain

Surface Forms

Mount Whitney main

Morphology

mount + Whitney

This is a place name formed by the noun 'mount' (a mountain) plus the proper name 'Whitney', so a learner who knows the constituents will understand it denotes a mountain called Whitney. The specific encyclopedic fact that it is the highest peak in the Sierra Nevada is not derivable from the parts, but the referential meaning is fully compositional and immediately comprehensible.

Etymology

The name Mount Whitney comes from an 1800s scientist, Josiah Whitney, who explored and studied California's rocks; the word Mount means 'mountain' and Whitney is his family name, so people used his name for the peak. That's why Mount Whitney now means 'the tallest mountain' in the Sierra Nevada.