- local (adj.)
- late 14c., "pertaining to position," from O.Fr. local, from L.L. localis "pertaining to a place," from L. locus "place" (see locus). The meaning "limited to a particular place" is from 1610s. The noun meaning "a local train" is from 1879; "local branch of a trade union" is from 1888; "neighborhood pub" is from 1934. Related: Locally. Local color is from 1721, originally a term in painting; meaning "anything picturesque" is from c.1900.