Antonym(s) for “antipode” / “antipodes” / “antipodean”?

Question

Wiktionary says these terms refer to "the opposite" side, etc and offers no antonyms.

But in practice, in the field of north vs south hemispheres, they are only ever used in my experience to refer to the southern hemisphere from the point of view of the northern hemisphere?

What terms should be used to refer to this aspect "oppositeness" of the northern hemisphere from the POV of the southern hemisphere.

Can I as an Australian refer to somebody from the northern hemisphere as "antipodean"? And even if technically correct will anybody understand me?

Or do the terms in this set have accepted antonyms?

Or what other solutions might I use when I want to convey this reversed point of view?

Answer 1

In general, the antipodes /ænˈtɪpədiːz/ are those

Places on the surfaces of the earth directly opposite to each other, or the place which is directly opposite to another; esp. the region directly opposite to our own.

(All citations from the OED)

It doesn’t simply mean southern, or austral. It means opposite. If you wanted to refer to those at your antipodes, you could call them that, but the word came around when the assumed perspective was that of England. Perhaps you could try boreal brethren for northern neighbors.

An Antipodean with capital, or the obsolete but regular Antipodian, is

1. Of or pertaining to the opposite side of the world; esp. Australasian.

That is also its noun sense. A secondary adjectival sense (not capitalized) is

2. humorously, Having everything upside down.

Plus the expected

3. fig. Of or pertaining to direct opposition; diametrically opposed (to).

Other forms include antipodal, antipodic, and antipodist, which once included a heretic of a particular sort.

Although you will find people using antipode in the singular, that is usually reserved for alternate senses of antipodes, including a chemical one. The original historical singular of antipodes is (or was) antipos:

• 1631 Brathwait Whimzies 115 ― A Zealous Brother··is an antipos to all church government.

One would have expected antipus there.

Answer 2

Some Googling has led me to this term which I'd vaguely heard but never looked up before:

Hyperborean (Greek mythology) one of a people that the ancient Greeks believed lived in a warm and sunny land north of the source of the north wind

(from WordNet 3.1)

And despite a terribly flaky Internet connection this afternoon, what I found on Wiktionary is even better:

Noun
2. (usually humorous) Any person living in a northern country, or to the north.

Adjective
1. Pertaining to the extreme north of the earth, or (usually jocular) to a specific northern country or area.

Answer 3

If A is the antipodes of B, B is also the antipodes of A. This is because two points are antipodal to each other if they can be connected by a straight line passing through the center of the earth.

Colloquially, "Antipodes" is used in the UK to refer to Australia/New Zealand, and antipodeans to their natives. You could use it the other way around, but I doubt anyone outside of the UK/Ireland would understand.

Answer 4

In theory, antipodean does mean opposite, and you could use it in conversation or in an Australian newspaper to refer to Europe (though probably not the USA). You couldn't use it on this site, for example, because the conversation is taking place neither in Australia nor in Europe. But in practice, it can't be used without confusion; this is because the Antipodes (capitalised) refers to Australia and New Zealand wherever you are standing, just as the West refers to North America and Europe, even if you are in Alaska and 'The West' is east of you.

I can see this may be annoying; the only consolation I can offer is that the problem has a long history. The Roman province of Transalpine Gaul was actually on the same side of the Alps as the capital of Gaul, because the name was assigned by somebody in Rome, to whom most of Gaul was 'the far side of the Alps'.