gazetteer
English · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
gazetteer¹
- /ˌɡæzəˈtɪə/ UK
- /ˌɡæzəˈtɪəɹ/ US
Rhymes with -ɪə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
The noun is borrowed from French gazettier (archaic), gazetier (“journalist, newspaperman”) + English -eer (suffix forming agent nouns denoting people associated with or engaged in a specified activities). Gazettier, gazetier are derived from gazette (“newspaper”) + -ier (suffix denoting a profession); and gazette from Italian gazzetta, from Venetan gazeta, from gazeta dele novità (literally “a gazeta of news”) (referring to the cost of the newspaper, a gazeta being a Venetian coin of little value, whence English gazet (obsolete)), possibly a diminutive of Latin gaza (“riches, treasure; treasury”), ultimately from Old Median *ganǰam (“treasure; wealth”). The English word is analysable as gazette + -eer.
The verb is derived from the noun.
noun gazetteers
- A person who writes for a gazette or newspaper; a journalist; (specifically) a journalist engaged by a government. Mount novv to Gallo-belgicus: Appeare / As deepe as a States-man, as a Gazettier.
- A gazette, a newspaper. The Hoſt look'd ſtedfaſtly at Adams, and after a Minute's ſilence aſked him "if he vvas one of the VVriters of the Gazetteers? for I have heard," ſays he, "they are vvrit by Parſons." "Gazetteers!" anſvvered Adams. "What is that?" "It is a dirty Nevvs-Paper," replied the Hoſt, "vvhich hath been give
verb gazetteers · gazetteering · gazetteered
-
Synonym of gazette (“to announce the status of (someone) in an official gazette”).
[A]s an old friend I've got one favour to beg and to request to be granted. […] Why, when you've been gazetteered as Sir Robert and Lady Smugglefuss, that I shall be the first to be honoured with a visit.
Similar: gazette
- To report about (someone) in a gazette or newspaper. [O]ur modern canibals of the gazetteering tribe, leſs delicate than they, can divert themſelves in cool blood vvith the pangs of their friends, and exert their more licentious brutality amidſt the miſeries of nations in ſtrict alliance vvith their ovvn;—if ſuch inſects can be deem'd of any nation.
gazetteer²
- /ˌɡæzəˈtɪə/ UK
- /ˌɡæzəˈtɪəɹ/ US
Rhymes with -ɪə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
The noun is derived from The Gazetteer’s, or Newsman’s Interpreter (1st edition, 1692), the name of a geographical index compiled by the English clergyman and historian Laurence Echard (c. 1670 – 1730); in the preface he said “The Title was given me by a very eminent Person, whom I forbear to name.” The preface also stated that the work was “partly design’d for all such as frequent Coffee-Houses, and other places for News”, that is, to help readers better understand the newspapers written by gazetteers or journalists (see etymology 1).
The verb is derived from the noun.
noun gazetteers
- A dictionary or index of geographical locations. The kind Reception the Gazetteer has met vvith in the VVorld, manifeſted by the ſeveral Editions that have been of it, vvithin the compaſs of a fevv Years; and indeed, the Conveniency of a Compendious Undertaking of this kind, have induced us to go on vvith a ſecond Part, comprehending the other thr
- A similar descriptive list (often alphabetical) of information on other subjects. [A]ll the brighter stars of the sky are registered in their true relations one to another, on charts and photographic plates. […] When a higher precision is required, one must consult those gazetteers of the sky known as star catalogues.
verb gazetteers · gazetteering · gazetteered
- To describe the geography of (a country or other place) in a gazetteer (etymology 2, noun sense 1). Such a cosmopolitan collection of post-marks is seldom made. They have a conventional range, from Buckingham Palace and Osborne, through university towns, scholars' libraries, remote parishes in Scotland, the seats of power in British India, to places Down East, and towns at the West not yet gazette
Translations
Every language
noun dictionary or index of geographical locations
| Español | nomenclátor |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 地名辞典 chimei jiten, 地名集 chimeishū |
| 中文 | 地名辞典 dìmíng cídiǎn, 志乘 zhìshèng, 志書 /志书 zhìshū |
| हिन्दी | गैजेटियर gaijeṭiyar, गैजेट gaijeṭ, गजेटियर gajeṭiyar |
| Português | gazetteer, índice de topónimos, nomenclatura |
| Français | gazetier, index géographique |
| Deutsch | Ortslexikon |
| Русский | географи́ческий лексико́н geografíčeskij leksikón, географи́ческий спра́вочник geografíčeskij správočnik |
| العربية | قَامُوس جُغْرَافِيّ qāmūs juḡrāfiyy |
| עברית | גאזטיר gaztir |
Talk about this word "gazetteer." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/gazetteer. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. gazetteer. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/gazetteer "gazetteer." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/gazetteer.Cite this
@misc{gazetteer_2026,
title = {gazetteer},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/gazetteer},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
