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Webster 1913 Edition


Local

Lo′cal

(lō′kal)
,
Adj.
[L.
localis
, fr.
locus
place: cf. F.
local
. See
Lieu
,
Locus
.]
Of or pertaining to a particular place, or to a definite region or portion of space; restricted to one place or region;
as, a
local
custom
.
Gives to airy nothing
A
local
habitation and a name.
Shakespeare
Local actions
(Law)
,
actions such as must be brought in a particular county, where the cause arises; – distinguished from
transitory actions
.
Local affection
(Med.)
,
a disease or ailment confined to a particular part or organ, and not directly affecting the system.
Local attraction
(Magnetism)
,
an attraction near a compass, causing its needle to deviate from its proper direction, especially on shipboard.
Local battery
(Teleg.)
,
the battery which actuates the recording instruments of a telegraphic station, as distinguished from the battery furnishing a current for the line.
Local circuit
(Teleg.)
,
the circuit of the local battery.
Local color
.
(a)
(Paint.)
The color which belongs to an object, and is not caused by accidental influences, as of reflection, shadow, etc.
(b)
(Literature)
Peculiarities of the place and its inhabitants where the scene of an action or story is laid.
Local option
,
the right or obligation of determining by popular vote within certain districts, as in each county, city, or town, whether the sale of alcoholic beverages within the district shall be allowed.
2.
In newspaper cant, an item of news relating to the place where the paper is published.
[U.S.]

Webster 1828 Edition


Local

LO'CAL

,
Adj.
[L. localis; from locus, place, loco. See Lay.]
1.
Pertaining to a place, or to a fixed or limited portion of space. We say, the local situation of the house is pleasant. We are often influenced in our opinions by local circumstances.
2.
Limited or confined to a spot, place, or definite district; as a local custom. The yellow fever is local in its origin, and often continues for a time, to be a local disease.
3.
In law, local actions are such as must be brought in a particular county, where the cause arises; distinguished from transitory actions.

Definition 2024


local

local

See also: lo-cal

English

Adjective

local (comparative more local, superlative most local)

  1. From or in a nearby location.
    We prefer local produce.
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 22, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      Not unnaturally, Auntie took this communication in bad part. [] Next day she [] tried to recover her ward by the hair of the head. Then, thwarted, the wretched creature went to the police for help; she was versed in the law, and had perhaps spared no pains to keep on good terms with the local constabulary.
    • 2012 December 1, An internet of airborne things”, in The Economist, volume 405, number 8813, page 3 (Technology Quarterly):
      A farmer could place an order for a new tractor part by text message and pay for it by mobile money-transfer. A supplier many miles away would then take the part to the local matternet station for airborne dispatch via drone.
  2. (computing, of a variable or identifier) Having limited scope (either lexical or dynamic); only being accessible within a certain portion of a program.
  3. (mathematics, not comparable, of a condition or state) Applying to each point in a space rather than the space as a whole.
  4. (medicine) Of or pertaining to a restricted part of an organism.
    The patient didn't want to be sedated, so we applied only local anesthesia.
  5. Descended from an indigenous population.
    Hawaiian Pidgin is spoken by the local population.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Translations

Noun

local (plural locals)

  1. A person who lives nearby.
    It's easy to tell the locals from the tourists.
  2. A branch of a nationwide organization such as a trade union.
    I'm in the TWU, too. Local 6.
  3. (rail transport) A train that stops at all, or almost all, stations between its origin and destination, including very small ones.
    The expresses skipped my station, so I had to take a local.
  4. (Britain) One's nearest or regularly frequented public house or bar.
    I got barred from my local, so I've started going all the way into town for a drink.
  5. (programming) A locally scoped identifier.
    Functional programming languages usually don't allow changing the immediate value of locals once they've been initialized, unless they're explicitly marked as being mutable.
  6. (US, slang, journalism) An item of news relating to the place where the newspaper is published.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Translations

Derived terms

Related terms


Asturian

Adjective

local (epicene, plural locales)

  1. Alternative form of llocal

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowing from Late Latin locālis, from Latin locus

Adjective

local m, f (masculine and feminine plural locals)

  1. local

Derived terms

Related terms


French

Etymology

Borrowing from Late Latin locālis, from Latin locus

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /lo.kal/.

Adjective

local m (feminine singular locale, masculine plural locaux, feminine plural locales)

  1. local

Antonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Noun

local m (plural locaux)

  1. room

Anagrams


Ladin

Adjective

local m (feminine singular locala, masculine plural locai, feminine plural locales)

  1. local

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowing from Late Latin locālis, from Latin locus. Cognate with the inherited lugar.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /lo.ˈkaʊ/
  • (Portugal) IPA(key): /lu.ˈkaɫ/

Adjective

local m, f (plural locais, comparable)

  1. local

Noun

local m (plural locais)

  1. premises, rooms
  2. site
  3. place, location

Synonyms


Romanian

Etymology

Borrowing from French local, Late Latin localis.

Adjective

local

  1. local

Related terms


Spanish

Etymology

Borrowing from Late Latin locālis, from Latin locus. Compare the inherited doublet lugar.

Adjective

local m, f (plural locales)

  1. local

Noun

local m (plural locales)

  1. premises, rooms
  2. (Mexico) store or other retail unit in a shopping center