Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The meteorological conditions, including temperature, precipitation, and wind, that characteristically prevail in a particular region.
  • noun A region of the earth having particular meteorological conditions.
  • noun A prevailing condition or set of attitudes in human affairs.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To dwell; reside in a particular region.
  • noun In old geography:
  • noun A zone measured on the earth's surface by lines parallel to the equator. There were thirty of these zones between the equator and the pole.
  • noun One of seven divisions of the earth corresponding to the seven planets.
  • noun A region or country; any distinct portion of the earth's surface.
  • noun The characteristic condition of a country or region in respect to amount or variations of heat and cold, moisture and dryness, wind and calm, etc.; especially, the combined result of all the meteorological phenomena of any region, as affecting its vegetable and animal productions, the health, comfort, pursuits, and intellectual development of mankind, etc.
  • noun [As used by the Greeks, the word κλίμα denoted properly a slope or an incline, and was applied to mountain-slopes (κλίματα ο\ρῶν), but especially to the apparent slope or inclination of the earth toward the pole. Hence the word came gradually to be used as nearly the equivalent of zone (but not of the divisions of the earth's surface now so named). A change of “climate” took place, in going north, on arriving at a place where the day was half an hour longer or shorter, according to the season, than at the point from which the start was made. The same was the meaning of the word climate as used by the early English navigators (see def. 1). Gradually the change of temperature consequent on moving north or south came to be considered of more importance than the length of the day. Hence the word climate came finally to have the meaning now attached to it.]

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb Poetic To dwell.
  • noun (Anc. Geog.) One of thirty regions or zones, parallel to the equator, into which the surface of the earth from the equator to the pole was divided, according to the successive increase of the length of the midsummer day.
  • noun The condition of a place in relation to various phenomena of the atmosphere, as temperature, moisture, etc., especially as they affect animal or vegetable life.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun obsolete An area of the earth's surface between two parallels of latitude.
  • noun obsolete A region of the Earth.
  • noun The long-term manifestations of weather and other atmospheric conditions in a given area or country, now usually represented by the statistical summary of its weather conditions during a period long enough to ensure that representative values are obtained (generally 30 years).
  • noun figuratively The context in general of a particular political, moral etc. situation.
  • verb poetic, obsolete To dwell.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the weather in some location averaged over some long period of time
  • noun the prevailing psychological state

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English climat, from Old French, from Late Latin clima, climat-, from Greek klima, surface of the earth, region; see klei- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French climat, from Latin clima, from Ancient Greek κλίμα ("inclination"), from κλίνω ("to slope, incline") (from which also cline), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱley- (English lean).

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Examples

  • As with religion, its claims are often non-falsifiable, hence the convenience of the term "climate change" when thermometers don't oblige the expected trend lines.

    The Great Global Warming Fizzle Bret Stephens 2011

  • Yet, despite this recent report, and despite all we do know about climate change, the topic has become the C-word in Washington, D.C. Just as the term "global warming" fell out of favor, the term "climate change" is now one that few in our nation's capital dare bring up in conversation, much less in legislation.

    Heidi Cullen: The C-Word Heidi Cullen 2011

  • Although the term climate is highly abstract and behavioral scientists have had great difficulty measuring it, we can identify some basic features, or clues, by which we can assess the climate of a typical organization and that we can use as guides for improving it.

    Stress and the Manager KARL ALBRECHT 1979

  • Although the term climate is highly abstract and behavioral scientists have had great difficulty measuring it, we can identify some basic features, or clues, by which we can assess the climate of a typical organization and that we can use as guides for improving it.

    Stress and the Manager KARL ALBRECHT 1979

  • Although the term climate is highly abstract and behavioral scientists have had great difficulty measuring it, we can identify some basic features, or clues, by which we can assess the climate of a typical organization and that we can use as guides for improving it.

    Stress and the Manager KARL ALBRECHT 1979

  • What is more, the United Nations contests the use of the term "climate refugees" or "environmental refugees."

    NYT > Home Page By DOROTHY SPEARS 2011

  • Yet, despite this recent report, and despite all we do know about climate change, the topic has become the C-word in Washington, D.C. Just as the term "global warming" fell out of favor, the term "climate change" is now one that few in our nation's capital dare bring up in conversation, much less in legislation.

    The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com Heidi Cullen 2011

  • What is more, the United Nations contests the use of the term "climate refugees" or "environmental refugees."

    NYT > Home Page By DOROTHY SPEARS 2011

  • What is more, the United Nations contests the use of the term "climate refugees" or "environmental refugees."

    NYT > Home Page By DOROTHY SPEARS 2011

  • In the US Congress, any bill or suggested appropriation that contains the keyword climate is eliminated, most probably without being read.

    Peter Neill: Remember Climate Change? Peter Neill 2011

  • In the ensuing days, Ocasio-Cortez warned on Instagram and Twitter of the threat of “climate delayers”: people who appear to accept that something needs to be done about climate change, but don’t seem to grasp its urgency.

    Could 'climate delayer' become the political epithet of our times? Matthew Cantor 2021

  • It seemed like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was doing that this week when she used the term “climate delayer” to call out those dragging their feet on climate change.

    Could 'climate delayer' become the political epithet of our times? Matthew Cantor 2021

  • Language around climate change has evolved, people are now more inclined to use the phrase climate crisis.

    Taxonomies and metadata: 5 key tips for UX writers Alice Walsh 2022

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