highland
/ˈhʌɪlənd
/noun
1 [mass noun] (also highlands) An area of high or mountainous land: the highlands of Madagascar [as modifier]: a highland region of Vietnam...
- Many areas of both the highlands and the lowlands supported very dense populations prior to the Roman invasion.
- The topography is a mix of central highlands and peripheral foothills and plains.
- Both regions enjoy long hot summers and, apart from highland areas like the Cevennes and Pyrennees, mild winters.
Synonyms
uplands, highlands, mountains, hills, heights, moors, hilly country, mountainous region;
plateau, upland, tableland, mesa, elevated plain, ridge;
British wolds
2 (the Highlands) The mountainous part of Scotland, to the north of Glasgow and Stirling, often associated with Gaelic culture: [as modifier]: a Highland regiment
2.1 (Highland) A council area of northern Scotland; administrative centre, Inverness.
Derivatives
highlander
/ noun ...- Explorers were followed by Christian missionaries intent on imposing Western political and economic practices and religious beliefs on the highlanders.
- A smaller number of Peru's indigenous highlanders, probably about half a million, speak Aymará, the language of a tribe conquered by the Incas.
- Conversely, the highlanders had never before seen people who lived beyond their mountain valleys and plains.
highlandman
- Against so powerful a body resistance was hopeless; the invading army made a peaceful entry on 30th March, and, after passing through the town, encamped on the Queen's Links, where it was afterwards joined by five hundred highlandmen sent by Argyle.
Origin
Old English hēahlond 'a high promontory' (see high, land).