Located on this side of a mountain or mountain range; the opposite of transmontane.
From Latin 'cis-' (on this side) plus 'montane' (relating to mountains). The term became important in colonial America and Europe to describe regions divided by major mountain barriers.
Early American politics literally split over this word—cismontane meant the settled Eastern seaboard, while transmontane meant the dangerous frontier beyond the Appalachians, and it defined everything from voting rights to Indian policy.
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