“Arctic” comes from the Greek arktos, “bear,” because the constellation Ursa Major, “the greater she-bear” (also known as the Big Dipper), is always visible in the northern polar sky. “Antarctic,” then, means “opposite the bear.”
Accordingly, polar bears reside at the north pole but not the south, making the Antarctic the land without bears in more ways that one.
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Published by Jess Zafarris
An award-winning innovator of digital content and marketing solutions and a prolific online and print journalist, Jess Zafarris is the Executive Director, Marketing & Communications for Gotham Ghostwriters. Previously, she served as Digital Content Director and Director for Writer’s Digest and ScriptMag. Her eight years of prior experience in digital and print content direction and marketing include such roles as editor-in-chief of HOW Design magazine and online content director of HOW and PRINT magazine, as well as writing for the Denver Business Journal, ABC News, and the Memphis Commercial Appeal. She spends much of her spare time researching curious word histories and writing about them at UselessEtymology.com. Follow her at @jesszafarris or @uselessety on Twitter.
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