hinterland

noun

Etymology: Borrowed from German Hinterland, from hinter (“behind”) + Land (“land”), cognate to English hinder (“back, rear”) + land. First used in English in 1888 by George Chisholm in his work Handbook of Commercial Geography originally as hinderland, but the current spelling (following German) became more popular. The term is characteristic of a thalassocratic analysis of space (from the point of view of a nation with maritime supremacy, such as 19th-century Britain).

1. The land immediately next to, and inland from, a coast.

   “In West Wales it has never been possible until recently to exploit the magnificent natural harbour of Milford Haven, for there was no industrial hinterland.”

2. The rural territory surrounding an urban area, especially a port.
3. A remote or undeveloped area.

   “In the film, Hanks is a veteran traversing the Texas hinterlands during the Reconstruction period when he stumbles upon a lost young white girl (Helena Zengel) who only speaks Kiowa, and is forced to undergo a dangerous journey to bring the orphan to her family.”

4. That which is unknown or unexplored about someone.

   “Near-synonym: shadow”

5. An area of land far from the sea.
6. Anything vague or ill-defined, especially something that is ill understood.

   “Near-synonym: shadowland”

   “This approach utilizes concepts such as naming, describing, contrasting and equating to access the hinterland between structure and meaning, and to map out the subtle ways in which texts can naturalise the ideology of the perfect female form.”