hinterland
English · Français · Deutsch · Italiano · Português · Română · 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.
hinterland
- /ˈhɪntə(ɹ)ˌlænd/
- /-lənd/
Where it comes from
Borrowed from German Hinterland, from hinter (“behind”) + Land (“land”), cognate to English hinder (“back, rear”) + land. First used in English in 1888 by George Chisholm in his work Handbook of Commercial Geography originally as hinderland, but the current spelling (following German) became more popular. The term is characteristic of a thalassocratic analysis of space (from the point of view of a nation with maritime supremacy, such as 19th-century Britain).
noun hinterlands · hinderland
- The land immediately next to, and inland from, a coast. In West Wales it has never been possible until recently to exploit the magnificent natural harbour of Milford Haven, for there was no industrial hinterland.
- The rural territory surrounding an urban area, especially a port.
-
A remote or undeveloped area.
In the film, Hanks is a veteran traversing the Texas hinterlands during the Reconstruction period when he stumbles upon a lost young white girl (Helena Zengel) who only speaks Kiowa, and is forced to undergo a dangerous journey to bring the orphan to her family.
Similar: backwater, sticks, Isolated town, bump in the road, jerkwater, jerk-water, jerkwater town, one-horse town, wide spot in the road, Isolated place, arse end of nowhere, back of beyond
-
That which is unknown or unexplored about someone.
Near-synonym: shadow
Similar: shadow
-
An area of land far from the sea.
Similar: interior, backcountry
-
Anything vague or ill-defined, especially something that is ill understood.
Near-synonym: shadowland
Similar: shadowland
- An individual's depth and breadth of knowledge, especially a politician's in areas outside politics, such as of academic, artistic, cultural, literary and scientific pursuits.
Translations
Every language
noun land immediately next to a coast
| 中文 | 內地 /内地 nèidì |
|---|---|
| Português | litoral |
| Français | arrière-pays |
| Deutsch | Binnenland, Hinterland, Inland |
| Italiano | retroterra |
| Ελληνικά | ενδοχώρα endochóra |
| Русский | побережье poberežʹje |
noun rural territory surrounding urban area
| 中文 | 郊區 /郊区 jiāoqū |
|---|---|
| Français | arrière-pays |
| Deutsch | Umland, Hinterland |
| Italiano | hinterland |
| Русский | пригород prigorod |
noun remote or undeveloped area
| 中文 | 偏遠地區 /偏远地区 piānyuǎn dìqū, 落後地區 /落后地区 luòhòu dìqū |
|---|---|
| Português | sertão |
| Deutsch | Provinz, plattes Land |
| Русский | захолу́стье zaxolústʹje, глуби́нка glubínka, глушь glušʹ |
Talk about this word "hinterland." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/hinterland. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. hinterland. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/hinterland "hinterland." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/hinterland.Cite this
@misc{hinterland_2026,
title = {hinterland},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/hinterland},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
