baltic

UK/ˈbɒl.tɪk//ˈbɔl.tɪk/

baltic is the alternative letter-case form of Baltic.

Adjective capitalized: Baltic

Baltic (comparative more Baltic, superlative most Baltic)

Of or pertaining to the Baltic region or the Baltic Sea.
- In the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, three of the Soviet Union's fifteen constituent republics, last year's most dangerous fantasies have been sanctioned by the government itself.1989 May, Priit J. Vesilind, “The Baltic: Arena of Power”, in National Geographic, volume 175, number 5, page 604
- The Teutonic Knights were newly established in the Baltic region, where they owed their first possessions to Mazovian policy.1994, S. C. Rowell, Lithuania Ascending, page 9
Of or pertaining to any of the Baltic languages.
- The Baltic division of the group embraces the Lithuanian and Lettic.1918, Charles E. Bennett, New Latin Grammar
Of or pertaining to the Balts (the Baltic peoples).
(UK, colloquial) Extremely cold.
- It's twenty-three degrees outside, freezing is thirty two and with the wind chill factor it's Baltic out there.2010, Craig Moffat, Standing in the Dark, →ISBN, page 134
- Apart from anything else, it's absolutely Baltic outside. In the past 24 hours, a freeze has abruptly descended on the whole of Europe, and here in the northwest corner of France, the cold claws of the Atlantic are particularly sharp.2012, Richard Moore, Slaying the Badger, →ISBN

Proper noun capitalized: Baltic

Baltic

The Baltic Sea.
A geographic region of Northern Europe, surrounding the Baltic Sea.
- Well, you see, I was temporarily in command of the cruiser coming down the Baltic, and passing an island rock a few miles away, I thought it would be a good opportunity to test a new gun that had been put aboard when we left England.1906, Robert Barr, A Rock in the Baltic
A geographic region of Northern Europe, consisting of the three countries to the east of the Baltic Sea, i.e. Latvia, Lithuanian and Estonia; in full, the Baltics or the Baltic states.
- It appears from the evidence, that the corn from the Baltic is often very heavily taxed, and that this tax is generally raised in proportion to our necessities.1815, Thomas Malthus, Importation of Foreign Corn
The Baltic language family; the Baltic languages
The Baltic Exchange, a membership organisation for the maritime industry.
An unincorporated community in Kings County, in eastern Prince Edward Island, Canada.
A village and census-designated place in the center of the town of Sprague, Connecticut.
A village in Coshocton County, Holmes County and Tuscarawas County, Ohio.
A city in Minnehaha County, South Dakota.

Forms of baltic

comparative	more baltic
superlative	most baltic
comparative	more Baltic
superlative	most Baltic
alternative form	baltic

Origin of baltic

From Latin Balticus, from Latin Balthae (“dwellers near the Baltic sea”); equivalent to Balt + -ic. The ultimate origin of the ethnonym is unknown, but possibilities include: * Related to Lithuanian baltas (“white”) and Proto-Slavic *bolto (“swamp, bog, mud”), which are likely from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel(H)- (“white”) via Proto-Balto-Slavic *bálˀtas (“white”). This supposes a semantic shift in Baltic from “white” to something like “marsh” or “sea”, paralleling that in the Slavic cognate. (However, the only such parallels attested from Baltic occur in Lithuanian balà (“swamp, mire, morass; puddle”) and Latvian bala (“loamy valley without trees, swamp, depression”), which are not only semantically more distant but crucially lack the *-t- suffix.) On the other hand, similar words for “swamp, marsh” throughout Europe have been considered substrate words; more at *bolto and baltë. * From a hypothetical derivative of Proto-Germanic *baltijaz (itself borrowed from Latin balteus (“belt”)), originally referring to the Danish straits, "the Belts". This is suggested by Adam of Bremen, who in the 11th century first recorded the name (Balticus, eo quod in modum baltei longo tractu per...

Words formed from baltic

Baltic pine
Baltic languages
Baltic region
Baltic Sea
Baltic Shield
Balto-Slavic

Phrases with baltic

Questions about baltic

What does baltic mean?: Baltic means of or pertaining to the Baltic region or the Baltic Sea.
What is baltic the alternative letter-case form of?: Baltic is the alternative letter-case form of Baltic.
What part of speech is baltic?: Baltic can be an adjective or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce baltic?: Baltic is pronounced /ˈbɒl.tɪk/ (UK).

Words near baltic in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: baltic (page history and authors); Baltic (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-Baltic.ogg.

Cite this entry: “baltic.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/baltic. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.