climes

Climes is the plural form of clime, an English word used to denote a region or country characterized by a particular climate. While clime can refer to a broad geographical belt, climes is now largely found in literary, historical, or travel-writing contexts. In modern prose, it often conveys place and atmosphere rather than precise meteorology, appearing in phrases such as “the climes of the south” or “far-off climes.”

Etymology and sense: The term traces to Old English clima, which itself derives from Latin climata meaning zones or climates, with transmission through Old French climat and later English adoption. The plural form climes follows standard English morphology.

Usage and nuance: Today climate is the standard term in science and everyday speech for long-term atmospheric conditions. Clime and its plural climes survive mainly as literary or historical color, used to evoke the idea of distinct regions or to suggest travel, change, or exotic locales. The plural is sometimes employed to contrast multiple regions, such as temperate climes versus tropical climes.

See also: climate, climate zone, geography, biomes.