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Thule

Thule

1 9.9
An ancient name for the far north used by Greek and Roman writers
  • proper noun
  • Literature
translation icon : Thule
  • Petrarch was never able to pin down the location of Taprobane and Ultima Thule to his satisfaction.
  • ultima Thule

Examples

  • "Medieval writers and geographers were generally content to put such places as Taprobane and Ultima Thule wherever there was room for them at the margins of their maps.

    Academic text (2009)
  • Thule shall prove no limit, and stars take up positions as they did when the world unrolled.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • He needed to live in Ultima Thule.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • At other times, you used to sigh for Ultima Thule, probably Iceland, signifying the northwestern limits of the world.

    Academic text (2009)
  • In ancient times, explorers spoke of Thule as the farthest north land known to them.

  • Literature from Greek and Roman writers often referenced Thule as a mysterious northern territory.

  • Many believe that Thule refers to the distant lands of Scandinavia or Iceland.

Synonyms

ultima Thule
vsThule
  • Archaic
9.9

A very distant place beyond the known world

refers specifically to the ancient literary name for a real northern land

Compounds

ultima Thule
  • Archaic
9.9

A very distant place beyond the known world

Surface Forms

Thule main

Etymology

Thule was used by Greek and Roman writers to mean the 'farthest north' or the 'edge of the map'. That's why Thule still seems like a very distant northern place.