baltics

adjective

1. of, near, or on the Baltic Sea.
2. of or relating to the Baltic States.
3. of or relating to a group of languages, as Latvian, Lithuanian, and Old Prussian, that constitute a branch of the Indo-European family.

noun

4. the Baltic branch of the Indo-European family of languages.

pl n

1. the Baltics another name for the Baltic States

adjective

1. denoting or relating to the Baltic Sea or the Baltic States
2. of, denoting, or characteristic of Baltic as a group of languages
3. British informal extremely cold

noun

4. a branch of the Indo-European family of languages consisting of Lithuanian, Latvian, and Old Prussian
5. short for Baltic Sea
6. Also called: Baltic Exchange an international market for shipbrokers in the City of London: formerly housed in the Baltic Exchange building which was demolished after terrorist bomb damage in 1992

1580s, from Medieval Latin Balticus, perhaps from Lithuanian baltas “white” or Scandinavian balta “straight” (in reference to its narrow entranceway). In German, it is Ostsee, literally “east sea.”