Nearctic

adjective

Ne·​arc·​tic ˌnē-ˈärk-tik 

-ˈär-tik

: of, relating to, or being the biogeographic subregion that includes Greenland and North America north of tropical Mexico

Word History

Etymology

ne- + arctic entry 1

Note: Introduced, along with neotropical, ethiopian entry 2, and palearctic, by the British zoologist Philip Sclater (1829-1913) in "On the general Geographical Distribution of the Members of the Class Aves [read June 16th, 1857]," Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Zoology, vol. 2 (1858), pp. 130-45.

First Known Use

1858, in the meaning defined above