Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Dwelling beyond or coming from the far side of the mountains, especially the Alps as viewed from Italy.
- adjective From another country; foreign.
- noun A person who lives beyond the mountains.
- noun A foreigner; a stranger.
- noun A cold north wind in Italy.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Being or situated beyond the mountains—that is, the Alps: originally used by the Italians; hence, foreign; barbarous: then applied to the Italians as being beyond the mountains from Germany, France, etc. See
ultramontane . - Coming from the other side of the mountains: as, tramontane wind.
- noun One who lives beyond the mountains; hence, a stranger; a barbarian. See I.
- noun The north wind. See
tramontana .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun One living beyond the mountains; hence, a foreigner; a stranger.
- adjective Lying or being beyond the mountains; coming from the other side of the mountains; hence, foreign; barbarous.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective From the far side of the
mountains (especially from North of the Alps) - adjective
foreign - adjective a classical name for the
north wind - noun One living beyond the mountains; a
foreigner ; astranger .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a cold dry wind that blows south out of the mountains into Italy and the western Mediterranean
- adjective on or coming from the other side of the mountains (from the speaker)
- adjective being or coming from another country
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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Parting from thence, they sailed away with a tramontane or northerly wind, passing by Meden, by Uti, by Uden, by Gelasim, by the Isles of the
Five books of the lives, heroic deeds and sayings of Gargantua and his son Pantagruel 2002
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Parting from thence, they sailed away with a tramontane or northerly wind, passing by Meden, by Uti, by Uden, by Gelasim, by the Isles of the Fairies, and alongst the kingdom of Achorie, till at last they arrived at the port of Utopia, distant from the city of the Amaurots three leagues and somewhat more.
Five books of the lives, heroic deeds and sayings of Gargantua and his son Pantagruel 2002
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The story, therefore, of the ancient philosopher whose bald pate one of these unlucky birds mistook for a stone, and dropped a shell upon it, thereby killing at once both, is not so tramontane as to stumble all belief.
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 14, No. 379, July 4, 1829 Various
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The seas were heavy and motley like a peacock's tail and the waves stirred up by the gay gusts of the tramontane, tossed their white crests under a sparkling and perfectly clear sky.
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I knelt very piously in one of the aisles while a symphony in the best style of Corelli, performed with taste and feeling, transported me to Italian climates, and I was quite vexed, when a cessation dissolved the charm, to think that I had still so many tramontane regions to pass, before I could in effect reach that classic country, where my spirit had so long taken up its abode.
Dreams Waking Thoughts and Incidents Beckford, William 1891
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"Yes, Paganel, it is the north wind -- a wind which causes many a crime in the Pampas, as the tramontane does in the Campagna of Rome."
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Neither on the coast nor in the foot-hills will the invalid find the climate of the Riviera or of Tangier -- not the tramontane wind of the former, nor the absolutely genial but somewhat enervating climate of the latter.
Our Italy Charles Dudley Warner 1864
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One of the first to revive these tramontane expeditions was General Ashley, of Missouri, a man whose courage and achievements in the prosecution of his enterprises have rendered him famous in the Far West.
The Adventures of Captain Bonneville Irving, Washington, 1783-1859 1850
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The tramontane concerns of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company were managed by two resident partners, Fitzpatrick and Bridger; those of the American Fur Company, by Vanderburgh and Dripps.
The Adventures of Captain Bonneville Irving, Washington, 1783-1859 1850
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Everything there is regulated by resident partners; that is to say, partners who reside in the tramontane country, but who move about from place to place, either with Indian tribes, whose traffic they wish to monopolize, or with main bodies of their own men, whom they employ in trading and trapping.
The Adventures of Captain Bonneville Irving, Washington, 1783-1859 1850
reesetee commented on the word tramontane
Dwelling beyond or coming from the far side of the mountains (also transmontane). Compare to cismontane.
August 31, 2007
chained_bear commented on the word tramontane
"As soon as she was well clear of the headland she took the true breeze, undeflected, a moderate tramontane, and Jack, standing by the helmsman with the mater, said 'Luff and touch her.'"
--Patrick O'Brian, The Ionian Mission, 205
February 14, 2008
yarb commented on the word tramontane
Lovely Estella, said I, on accosting her, thou absolute lodestone of the tramontanes...
- Lesage, The Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane, tr. Smollett, bk 7 ch. 10
October 1, 2008
qms commented on the word tramontane
Adieu, fromage! Farewell, Champagne!
Learn to savor your berries and grain.
It's the virtuous chore
Of the locavore
To banish all food that's tramontane.
May 29, 2014
chained_bear commented on the word tramontane
You are really good at this.
May 30, 2014
qms commented on the word tramontane
Thank you, chained_bear. I try, and your words are a comfort.
May 30, 2014
qms commented on the word tramontane
Cf. ultramontaine.
December 7, 2018
bilby commented on the word tramontane
Cf. superultramontane.
December 7, 2018