(initial capital letter) Anthropology. having the features characteristic of an Alpine.
noun
7.
(initial capital letter) Anthropology. a member of a Caucasoid people found in central Europe and characterized by heavy body build, medium complexion, and straight to wavy hair.
Origin
1600-10; < LatinAlpīnus, equivalent to Alp(ēs) (plural) the Alps + -īnus-ine1
Related forms
alpinely, adverb
Examples from the web for alpine
The alpine timberline marks the point where the elevation is too high, and usually too cold, for tree growth.
Of course, there's also the rest of the mountain, which has everything from groomers to high-alpine steeps.
Every alp also has a resident herd of pigs-which generally don't make it into those alpine travel posters.
Its more than one million acres are filled with wildlife, dense forests, jagged peaks and alpine glaciers.
First, there was an ample supply of water from the lake and nearby alpine streams to the north.
But as alpine areas rapidly warm, beetles have moved to higher terrain.
That's due in many cases to the sheer difficulty of reaching that ice and operating in harsh alpine environments.
In fact, temperatures are ascending rapidly, and this effect is especially powerful in alpine regions.
The switchbacks through the otherworldly alpine expanse were numbing.
Since every object makes its own gravity well, the depressions overlap, giving space a kind of reverse alpine topology.
British Dictionary definitions for alpine
alpine
/ˈælpaɪn/
adjective
1.
of or relating to high mountains
2.
(of plants) growing on mountains, esp above the limit for tree growth
3.
connected with or used in mountaineering in medium-sized glaciated mountain areas such as the Alps
4.
(skiing) of or relating to racing events on steep prepared slopes, such as the slalom and downhill Compare nordic
noun
5.
a plant that is native or suited to alpine conditions
Alpine
/ˈælpaɪn/
adjective
1.
of or relating to the Alps or their inhabitants
2.
(geology)
of or relating to an episode of mountain building in the Tertiary period during which the Alps were formed
of or relating to a high mountainous environment heavily modified by glacial erosion
Word Origin and History for alpine
Alpine
adj.
"of the Alps," early 15c., from Latin Alpinus; see Alp. Earlier was Alpish (1590s).
alpine in Science
alpine
(āl-pĭn) Resembling or characteristic of the European Alps or any other high mountain system, especially one that has been shaped by intense glacial erosion.