
adjective
- pertaining to or characterized by place or position in space; spatial.
- pertaining to, characteristic of, or restricted to a particular place or particular places: a local custom.
- pertaining to a city, town, or small district rather than an entire state or country: local transportation.
- stopping at most or all stations: a local train.
- pertaining to or affecting a particular part or particular parts, as of a physical system or organism: a local disease.
- Medicine/Medical. (of anesthesia or an anesthetic) affecting only a particular part or area of the body, without concomitant loss of consciousness, as distinguished from general anesthesia.
noun
- a local train, bus, etc.
- a newspaper item of local interest.
- a local branch of a union, fraternity, etc.
- a local anesthetic.
- Often locals.
- a local person or resident: primarily of interest to locals.
- a local athletic team: the locals versus the state champions.
- stamp(def 22).
- British Informal. a neighborhood pub.
verb (used without object)
- Informal. to travel by or take a local train or the like.
adjective
- characteristic of or associated with a particular locality or area
- of, concerned with, or relating to a particular place or point in space
- med of, affecting, or confined to a limited area or partCompare general (def. 10), systemic (def. 2)
- (of a train, bus, etc) stopping at all stations or stops
noun
- a train, bus, etc, that stops at all stations or stops
- an inhabitant of a specified locality
- British informal a pub close to one’s home or place of work
- med short for local anaesthetic
- US and Canadian an item of local interest in a newspaper
- US and Canadian a local or regional branch of an association
- Canadian a telephone extension
adj.“pertaining to position,” late 14c. (originally medical, “confined to a particular part of the body”), from Old French local (13c.) and directly from Late Latin localis “pertaining to a place,” from Latin locus “place” (see locus). The meaning “limited to a particular place” is from c.1500. Local color is from 1721, originally a term in painting; meaning “anything picturesque” is from c.1900. n.early 15c., “a medicament applied to a particular part of the body,” from local (adj.). Meaning “inhabitant of a particular locality” is from 1825. The meaning “a local train” is from 1879; “local branch of a trade union” is from 1888; “neighborhood pub” is from 1934. adj.
- Affecting or confined to a specific part of the body; not general or systemic.
n.
- Local anesthesia.