arctic, arctick

[In Fr. arctique; Sp. & Port. arctico; Ital. artico; Lat. arctic us; from arctos, Gr. ἄρκτος ( arktos ), a bear, also the constellation Ursa Major. In Sanscrit riksha, from the root ark or ask = to be bright, is (1) an adjective = bright, and (2) a substar.tive = a bear, so called either from his bright eyes or from his brilliant tawny fur. Before the Aryans had finally separated, riksha bright, applied to the plough-like constellation, had become obsolete, and the substantive bear remained, whence the constellation came to be called ἄρκτος ( arktos ) among the Greeks, Ursa among the Latins, and Bear among ourselves. ( Max Müller: Science of Language, 6th ed., vol. ii., 1871, p. 393.).] 1. Properly: Pertaining to the constellation called by the Greeks ἄρκτος ( arktos ) = bear, by the Romans Ursa , and by ourselves Ursa Major, the Great Bear, the Plough, Charles' Wain, . 2. Pertaining to the North generally, or more specially to the region within the Arctic Circle. "Man has become a denizen of every part of the globe, from the torrid to the arctic zones."- Owen : Cla if. of the Mammal i a, p. 49. Arctic Circle : A small circle of the globe, 23° 28' distant from the North Pole, which is its centre. It is opposed to the Antarctic Circle, which is at the same distance from the South Pole, (Glo og. Nov., .) Arctic Expedition: An expedition designed to explore the all but impenetrable regions surrounding the North Pole. The object with which these enterprises were commenced by the English was to obtain a pa age by way of the Polar regions to India, Egypt being in Mohammedan hands, and fear, which now 293 seems absolutely ludicrous, being felt that the Portuguese would succe fully debar the English seamen from using the route by the Cape of Good Hope. When the utter hopele ne of finding either a north-western or a north-eastern pa age to India though the Polar regions became apparent, it was felt that arctic expeditions might still profitably be sent out for purely scientific exploration, one main object now being to make as near an approach as po ible to the pole. They have continued at intervals to our own times, chief among the most recent being those of Lieutenant R. E. Peary, of the U. S. Navy, and of Dr. Nansen. Around the respective opinions of these two explorers public interest in this question is mainly centered at present. On returning from his first expedition in September, 1892, Lieutenant Peary claimed to have found that at the 82nd parallel the Green land coast turned South again, which, in his idea, forbade the po ibility of a Polar current flowing down into the Green land Sea. On the contrary, Dr. Nansen's theory is that the current which flows through Baffin's Bay and Smith's Sound does make its way to the North Pole, and that if a ship were once bedded in the ice and allowed to drift, she would be ultimately carried to the pole by this current. Whether the results of his search since July, 1893, are to prove le disappointing than those of our fellow-citizen is not yet known at the present date (April, 1896). An attempt to reach the North Pole by balloon has been in course of preparation for some time, the start being announced by the authorities at Washington for the month of July, 1896. Arctic Fox ( Vulpes lagopus ): A species of fox found in North America within the Arctic Circle. It is blackish-brown in summer, but in winter has a long, thick white fur, which renders it a beautiful animal. Arctic Pole: The North Pole as opposed to the Antarctic or Southern one. (Glo og. Nov.) Arctic Zone: The zone or belt of the earth between the North Pole and the Arctic Circle. arc'-ti-çīte, s. [In Ger. arctic it ; from Gr. ἀρκτικός ( arktikos ) = near the Bear, arctic, northern.] [ARCTIC.] A mineral, called also Wernerite and Scapolite (q.v.).