geographical

English

Etymology

From Late Latin geōgraphicus +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒiəˈɡɹæfɪkl̩/

• Audio (Southern England):

  noicon

  (file)

• Hyphenation: geo‧graph‧i‧cal

Adjective

geographical (comparative more geographical, superlative most geographical)

1. Of or relating to geography.

   Synonym: geographic

   • 1851, Herbert Spencer, “The Regulation of Commerce”, in Social Statics, London: Williams and Norgate, published 1868, section 1, page 326:

     Morality knows nothing of geographical boundaries, or distinctions of race.

   • 1952, Bernard DeVoto, “Preface”, in The Course of Empire, Boston: Mariner Books, published 1998, page xxxi:

     ONE OF the facts which define the United States is that its national and its imperial boundaries are the same. Another is that it is a political unit which occupies a remarkably compact geographical unit of continental extent.

   • 1977, James Monaco, “The Language of Film: Signs and Syntax”, in How to Read a Film, page 155:

     Clearly, the plane of the frame must be dominant, since that is the only plane that actually exists on the screen. Composition for this plane, however, is often influenced by factors in the geographical plane since, unless we are dealing with animation, a photographer or cinematographer must compose for the frame plane in the geographical plane.

Derived terms

• anthropogeographical
• biogeographical
• cytogeographical
• ecogeographical
• ethnogeographical
• geographical indication
• geographically
• geographical mile
• hydrogeographical
• ichthyogeographical
• macrogeographical
• microgeographical
• morphogeographical
• mythogeographical
• nongeographical
• north geographical pole
• nosogeographical
• ornithogeographical
• palaeogeographical
• paleogeographical
• phylogeographical
• physicogeographical
• physiogeographical
• phytogeographical
• politicogeographical
• psychogeographical
• sociogeographical
• transgeographical
• ungeographical
• zoogeographical

 

Translations

geographic — see geographic

Noun

geographical (plural geographicals)

1. (informal) A move to another place in the hope of curing an addiction etc.
   • 2011, Michael Carson, Benson at Sixty:

     At QA they called these 'Geographicals'. It was a common tactic of the alcoholic type to think that a move would make all the difference.

   • 2014, Sonny Carbo, Instant Idiot Just Add Alcohol:

     There were always too many geographicals. That is a change of address.

   • 2014, Veronica Valli, Why you drink and How to stop: Journey to freedom:

     'Doing Geographicals'
     The word 'geographical' comes from the recovery community. It refers to one of the actions that an alcoholic mistakenly takes in order to 'fix' their problems.

Further reading

• “geographical”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• geographical, geographic at the Google Books Ngram Viewer.