# Why is there a T in "Antarctica"?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-a-t-in-antarctica/1011381
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [December 9, 2024, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-a-t-in-antarctica/1011381 "2024-12-09T06:36:01Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2024, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-a-t-in-antarctica/1011381/1 "2024-12-09T06:36:01Z")
We have the arctic.
And we have a linguistic rule that says you can make something mean the the opposite by adding an “a” (or “an” if needed to account for an initial vowel/H sound) prefix:
Social; asocial
Hedonia; anhedonia
Symptomatic; asymptomatic
Moral; amoral
And so on.
So why do we have “arctic” and “an **t** arctic”? Shouldn’t it be “anarctic”?
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### Author:  [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2024, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-a-t-in-antarctica/1011381/2 "2024-12-09T06:44:13Z")
I think it’s more a play on “anti,” as in opposite, than “a” as in without or not. See also “antipode”.
Antarctica (the Antarctic) is directly opposite to the Arctic on the globe. It is antipodal to it.
Also, it’s Antarctica. Two c’s (which I say not to be pedantic, but because it more clearly fits within the anti/opposite framework).
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### Author:  [@UDS1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS1)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2024, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-a-t-in-antarctica/1011381/3 "2024-12-09T06:46:08Z")
The _a-_, _an-_ prefix doesn’t mean “the opposite” it means “without”. The opposite of _social_ is not _asocial_; it’s _antisocial_. The opposite of _moral_ is not _amoral_; it’s _immoral_. And so forth.
_Ant-_, _anti-_ is the prefex most commonly used to indicate opposition. The antarctic region is so called because it’s opposite (geographically speaking) the arctic region. Antarctica takes its name from the antarctic region. Although the existence of a large land mass in the antarctic region had been postulated since antiquity, it wasn’t discovered until 1820.
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### Author:  [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2024, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-a-t-in-antarctica/1011381/4 "2024-12-09T07:29:28Z")
Thank you @ASL_v2.0 and @UDS1 - of course, you are right. Shame on me, both for my misspelling of “Antarctica” and my failure to distinguish between the “a” prefix meaning “without” and “anti” meaning opposite.
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### Author:  [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2024, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-a-t-in-antarctica/1011381/5 "2024-12-09T07:35:22Z")
If you’re intersted, [this link takes you to the Etymology section of the article on Antarctica](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctica#Etymology). Here’s a snippet:
> The name given to the continent [originates](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etymology) from the word _antarctic_ , which comes from [Middle French](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_French) **antartique** or **antarctique** (‘opposite to the [Arctic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic)’) and, in turn, the [Latin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin) **antarcticus** (‘opposite to the north’). **Antarcticus** is derived from the [Greek](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_language) ἀντι- (‘anti-’) and ἀρκτικός (‘of [the Bear](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursa_Major)’, ‘northern’).
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### Author:  [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2024, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-a-t-in-antarctica/1011381/6 "2024-12-09T07:39:06Z")
> [@Monty](#):
>
> **Antarcticus** is derived from the [Greek](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_language) ἀντι- (‘anti-’) and ἀρκτικός (‘of [the Bear](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursa_Major)’, ‘northern’).
So in essence, the word “Antarctica” means “the place opposite of where the bears live”.
I like that.
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### Author:  [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2024, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-a-t-in-antarctica/1011381/7 "2024-12-09T08:03:54Z")
> [@Smapti](#):
>
> So in essence, the word “Antarctica” means “the place opposite of where the bears live”.
Whereas “Anarctica” would mean “a place with no bears”, which may be accurate, but also applies to plenty of other places.
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### Author:  [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2024, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-a-t-in-antarctica/1011381/8 "2024-12-09T08:18:12Z")
The “bear” reference in the word “arctic” doesn’t refer to physical bears, but to the constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear, which is in the northern sky.
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### Author:  [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2024, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-a-t-in-antarctica/1011381/9 "2024-12-09T08:30:35Z")
Otherwise the Arctic might be called the Antispheniscidae. Doesn’t have the same ring to it.
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### Author:  [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2024, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-a-t-in-antarctica/1011381/10 "2024-12-09T08:33:14Z")
> [@Francis\_Vaughan](#):
>
> Otherwise the Arctic might be called the Antispheniscidae
Anyone who feels like using “Arctica” and “Antipheniscida” as names for the polar regions in your D&D setting, go for it.
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### Author:  [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2024, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-a-t-in-antarctica/1011381/11 "2024-12-09T10:58:48Z")
Spelling fixed in title.
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### Author:  [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2024, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-a-t-in-antarctica/1011381/12 "2024-12-09T12:34:22Z")
Now that the question has been answered, if I may:
I just learned that **Australia, east,** and **Easter** are all related. The root idea is probably the rising sun, in the south-east (from Europe) – the australis wind from that direction, and a newly discovered land to the south. Easter is all about fertility – the new growth of spring – which is analogous to daybreak. (Easter probably was some pagan goddess, but not Ishtar, as many think.)
Another surprising cognate pair: **tire** and **attire**. You really do “clothe” your vehicle with those rubber things.
I mention this mainly to turn fellow Dopers on to a terrific podcast, _ **Because Language** _. It’s been running for several years, but somehow I’d missed it. Three language experts have guest interviews and such; it appeals to a wide range of familiarity levels, I think.
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### Author:  [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2024, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-a-t-in-antarctica/1011381/13 "2024-12-09T14:26:53Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#):
>
> (Easter probably was some pagan goddess, but not Ishtar, as many think.)
[Ēostre.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%92ostre)
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### Author:  [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2024, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-a-t-in-antarctica/1011381/14 "2024-12-09T15:16:33Z")
> [@markn\_1](#):
>
> The “bear” reference in the word “arctic” doesn’t refer to physical bears, but to the constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear, which is in the northern sky.
Doesn’t that other bear get any credit here?
> [@JKellyMap](#):
>
> Another surprising cognate pair: **tire** and **attire**. You really do “clothe” your vehicle with those rubber things.
Technically, it’s the wheels that are clothed, not the entire vehicle.
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### Author:  [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2024, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-a-t-in-antarctica/1011381/15 "2024-12-09T18:20:10Z")
> [@Smapti](#):
>
> So in essence, the word “Antarctica” means “the place opposite of where the bears live”.
Couldn’t we just rename it then: Penguinland!
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### Author:  [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2024, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-a-t-in-antarctica/1011381/16 "2024-12-09T18:33:11Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#):
>
> Couldn’t we just rename it then: Penguinland!
Not precise enough, I am afraid. There are penguins up to the equator in the Galapagos Islands.
> [@Francis\_Vaughan](#):
>
> Otherwise the Arctic might be called the Antispheniscidae.
See above.
> [@Alessan](#):
>
> Whereas “Anarctica” would mean “a place with no bears”, which may be accurate, but also applies to plenty of other places.
Continents without bears: Africa, Australia/Oceania, Antarctica.
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### Author:  [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2024, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-a-t-in-antarctica/1011381/17 "2024-12-09T18:35:38Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#):
>
> Not precise enough, I am afraid. There are penguins up to the equator in the Galapagos Islands.
But there are polar bears below the Arctic circle, in Hudson Bay. General wording is sufficient.
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### Author:  [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2024, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-a-t-in-antarctica/1011381/18 "2024-12-09T18:44:19Z")
There are polar bears in the very North Pole, at least occasionally, but no penguins close to the South Pole. Here are the known emperor penguin colonies (the four in red were recently discovered):
[ ](https://www.bas.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Map-of-penguin-colonies-718x600.png)
Antarctica is surrounded by penguins, perhaps we could settle for perispheniscidae?
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### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2024, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-a-t-in-antarctica/1011381/19 "2024-12-09T19:13:22Z")
Since they’ve completely surrounded the continent that raises a question in my mind …
Are they now
about to march to the center and conquer the whole landmass, destroying everything in their wake?
OR are
they all clustered at the edge because they’ve been trying to get away from this rock since forever, that’s all the far they can walk, and the next swim is more than they can manage?
Is this their new Promised Land of paradise, or their prison? 😉
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### Author:  [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2024, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-a-t-in-antarctica/1011381/20 "2024-12-09T22:58:09Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#):
>
> Are they now about to march to the center and conquer the whole landmass, destroying everything in their wake?
Heavily armed from Oswald Cobblepot’s stash:
[ ](https://i.redd.it/fp23alxhev551.jpg)
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