Other forms: alpines
Alpine means belonging to high mountains above the treeline. Alpine plants, alpine meadow, alpine skiing.
In gardening an alpine is a small plant from that zone, grown in rockeries and troughs because it needs sharp drainage and hates wet feet. Alpine skiing is downhill racing, against Nordic skiing, which is cross-country. Capitalised, Alpine means of the Alps themselves. Note that the alpine zone is defined by being above where trees can grow, which is a different height in every range.
1adjectivealpineBelonging to high mountains above the treeline.
“The alpine meadow sits at about two thousand metres.”
2nounsmallA small mountain plant grown in gardens.
“She grows little alpines in a stone trough by the front door.”
Too few real examples of this word to estimate which sense is commonest.
alpine is a quality of high mountains.
Latin Alpinus comes from Alpes, the Alps, whose own name is pre-Roman and probably Celtic, perhaps meaning height or white. The general sense of high mountain came from the particular range.
Latin
Alpīnus
English, today
alpine
Built from
From Latin Alpīnus, from Alpēs (“the Alps”). Cognates include French alpin.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA