ultima Thule

Latin ultima Thūlē, nominative feminine singular of ultimus (“furthest”) + Thule, from mediaeval geography; originally from the Ancient Greek Θούλη (Thoúlē), a (possibly mythical) island to the north of Britain.

ultima Thule (plural ultima Thules)

1. A place beyond the borders of the known world.
   • 1880, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “Dedication to G. W. G.”, in Ultima Thule:

     Ultima Thule! Utmost Isle! / Here in thy harbors for a while / We lower our sails; a while we rest / From the unending, endless quest.

   • 1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 306:

     It is impossible to define a reason for the Gulf Settlements attaining this unenviable notoriety, unless it is owing to the remoteness of their locality, and the kind of Ultima Thule that part of Australia seems to be.

2. Highest achievement.

• ultima thule, Ultima Thule

• Ultima Thūlē

ultima Thūlē f (genitive ultimae Thūlēs); first declension

1. (cartography) ultima Thule

First-declension adjective with a first-declension noun (Greek-type).