Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- Pertaining to, connected with, or dependent on rivers.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Of or relating to
rivers
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
From potam- + -ic.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word potamic.
Examples
-
Thus, with Metschnikoff we recognise the succession of potamic, thalassic, and oceanic civilisations; with Reclus we see the regular distribution of minor and major towns to have been largely influenced not only by geographical position but by convenient journey distances.
Civics: as Applied Sociology Patrick Geddes 1893
-
That night I head to the pulsing potamic souq, more unruly and wanton than the counterpart in Cairo, where the shopkeepers hustle visitors like dice, shaking and prodding until the right answer rolls.
The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com Richard Bangs 2011
joannasephine commented on the word potamic
adj: of or pertaining to rivers
March 6, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word potamic
Really? Wow! I had no idea this word existed. I wonder how/when/why it was coined, and why it is so close to "Potomac."
March 6, 2008
skipvia commented on the word potamic
My guess is that it and Mesopotamia have something in common. :-) My other guess is that since Potomac comes from an Algonquin Indian word, any similarity is probably just a coincidence...
March 6, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word potamic
Yes, I knew Potomac was an Algonquin name, that's why I thought the similarity was so striking. It seems like this word must really be much older. Mesopotamia makes sense.
Edit: Dictionary.com says "Origin: 1880–85; < Gk potam(ós) river + -ic." Not as old as I thought. OED says 1883, derived from Greek but of uncertain origin.
And I wonder about potable now. Here's that word's etymology, acc. to OED:
< Middle French, French potable fit or suitable for drinking (late 13th cent. in Old French) and its etymon post-classical Latin potabilis drinkable (4th cent.) < classical Latin ptre to drink (see POTATION n.) + -bilis -BLE suffix. Cf. Catalan potable (1460), Spanish potable (1424 or earlier), Italian potabile (late 15th or early 16th cent.).
March 6, 2008
skipvia commented on the word potamic
Interesting, c_b. I would have guessed that usage would be much older. Now I'm wondering about hippopotamus. Must go look up when that came into common usage...
Edit: About 1300, according to the Online Etymology Dictionary.
March 7, 2008