hinterland
/ˈhɪntə(ɹ)ˌlænd/
Etymology
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).
hinterland means The land immediately next to, and inland from, a coast. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 73 out of 100.
Why this word is great
HINTERLAND — [Noun] The land lying inland from a coast or river, especially the remote or less developed territory economically connected to a port or urban center. Borrowed from German Hinterland, from hinter ("behind, rear") + Land ("land"), cognate with English hinder ("back, rear") + land. Unlike "heartland," which suggests a nation's vital, central core, or "backcountry," which evokes a rustic escape for recreation, hinterland implies a relationship of dependency and extraction. It is the rustle of grain in silent fields that feeds the distant port, the resinous scent of felled timber awaiting shipment downriver, and the faint tremor from a freight train carrying away the raw wealth of the interior—the necessary, forgotten ground that makes the bright, consuming cities by the sea possible.
noun
- 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.”
- That which is unknown or unexplored about someone.“Near-synonym: shadow”
- An area of land far from the sea.
- Anything vague or ill-defined, especially something that is ill understood.“Near-synonym: shadowland”