Local definitions

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

LO'CAL, a. [L. localis; from locus, place, loco. See Lay.]
1. Pertaining to a place, or to a fixed or limited portion of space. We say, the local situation of the house is pleasant. We are often influenced in our opinions by local circumstances.
2. Limited or confined to a spot, place, or definite district; as a local custom. The yellow fever is local in its origin, and often continues for a time, to be a local disease.
3. In law, local actions are such as must be brought in a particular county, where the cause arises; distinguished from transitory actions.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: relating to or applicable to or concerned with the administration of a city or town or district rather than a larger area; "local taxes"; "local authorities" [ant: national]
2: of or belonging to or characteristic of a particular locality or neighborhood; "local customs"; "local schools"; "the local citizens"; "a local point of view"; "local outbreaks of flu"; "a local bus line"
3: affecting only a restricted part or area of the body; "local anesthesia" [ant: general] n
1: public transport consisting of a bus or train that stops at all stations or stops; "the local seemed to take forever to get to New York" [ant: express, limited]
2: anesthetic that numbs a particular area of the body [syn: local anesthetic, local anaesthetic, local, topical anesthetic, topical anaesthetic]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English localle, from Late Latin localis, from Latin locus place — more at stall Date: 15th century 1. characterized by or relating to position in space ; having a definite spatial form or location 2. a. of, relating to, or characteristic of a particular place ; not general or widespread b. of, relating to, or applicable to part of a whole 3. a. primarily serving the needs of a particular limited district b. of a public conveyance making all the stops on a route 4. involving or affecting only a restricted part of the organism ; topical <a local anesthetic> 5. of or relating to telephone communication within a specified area II. noun Date: circa 1824 a local person or thing: as a. a local public conveyance (as a train or an elevator) b. a local or particular branch, lodge, or chapter of an organization (as a labor union) c. British a nearby or neighborhood pub

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 belonging to or existing in a particular place or places. 2 peculiar to or only encountered in a particular place or places. 3 of or belonging to the neighbourhood (the local doctor). 4 of or affecting a part and not the whole, esp. of the body (local pain; a local anaesthetic). 5 in regard to place. --n. a local person or thing, esp.: 1 an inhabitant of a particular place regarded with reference to that place. 2 a local train, bus, etc. 3 (often prec. by the) Brit. colloq. a local public house. 4 a local anaesthetic. 5 US a local branch of a trade union. Phrases and idioms: local authority Brit. an administrative body in local government. local Derby see DERBY. local government a system of administration of a county, district, parish, etc., by the elected representatives of those who live there. local option (or veto) esp. US a system whereby the inhabitants of a district may prohibit the sale of alcoholic liquor there. local preacher a Methodist lay person authorized to conduct services in a particular circuit. local time 1 time measured from the sun's transit over the meridian of a place. 2 the time as reckoned in a particular place, esp. with reference to an event recorded there. local train a train stopping at all the stations on its route. Derivatives: locally adv. localness n. Etymology: ME f. OF f. LL localis f. L locus place

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Local Lo"cal, a. [L. localis, fr. locus place: cf. F. local. See Lieu, Locus.] Of or pertaining to a particular place, or to a definite region or portion of space; restricted to one place or region; as, a local custom. Gives to airy nothing A local habitation and a name. --Shak. Local actions (Law), actions such as must be brought in a particular county, where the cause arises; -- distinguished from transitory actions. Local affection (Med.), a disease or ailment confined to a particular part or organ, and not directly affecting the system. Local attraction (Magnetism), an attraction near a compass, causing its needle to deviate from its proper direction, especially on shipboard. Local battery (Teleg.), the battery which actuates the recording instruments of a telegraphic station, as distinguished from the battery furnishing a current for the line. Local circuit (Teleg.), the circuit of the local battery. Local color. (a) (Paint.) The color which belongs to an object, and is not caused by accidental influences, as of reflection, shadow, etc. (b) (Literature) Peculiarities of the place and its inhabitants where the scene of an action or story is laid. Local option, the right or obligation of determining by popular vote within certain districts, as in each county, city, or town, whether the sale of alcoholic beverages within the district shall be allowed.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Local Lo"cal, n. 1. (Railroad) A train which receives and deposits passengers or freight along the line of the road; a train for the accommodation of a certain district. [U.S.]

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(locals) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. Local means existing in or belonging to the area where you live, or to the area that you are talking about. We'd better check on the match in the local paper... Some local residents joined the students' protest... I was going to pop up to the local library. ADJ: ADJ n • The locals are local people. That's what the locals call the place. N-COUNT: usu pl, oft the N • locally We've got cards which are drawn and printed and designed by someone locally. ADV: ADV after v, ADV -ed 2. Local government is elected by people in one area of a country and controls aspects such as education, housing, and transport within that area. Education comprises two-thirds of all local council spending. ? national ADJ: usu ADJ n 3. Your local is a pub which is near where you live and where you often go for a drink. (BRIT INFORMAL) The Black Horse is my local. N-COUNT: usu sing, usu poss N 4. A local anaesthetic or condition affects only a small area of your body. (MEDICAL) ADJ

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. Topical, limited.

Moby Thesaurus

Amtrak, Pullman, Pullman car, aboriginal, aborigine, adjoining, affiliate, alehouse, arm, autochthon, baggage car, baggage train, bar, barrel house, barroom, beer garden, beer parlor, bistro, blind tiger, boxcar, branch, branch office, cabaret, cable railroad, caboose, cafe, car, carriage, chair car, chapter, choo-choo, city, close by, coach, coal car, cocktail lounge, cog railroad, cog railway, collective bargaining, company union, confined, county, covered waggon, craft union, day coach, dialect, dialectal, diner, dinghy, dining car, district, dive, division, dramshop, drawing room, drinking saloon, earliest inhabitant, el, electric, electric train, elevated, express, express train, first comer, flat, flatcar, flier, freight, freight train, freighter, funicular, geographically limited, gin mill, gondola, goods train, groggery, grogshop, honky-tonk, horizontal union, idiomatic, indigene, industrial union, insular, interurban, labor union, lightning express, limited, local union, local yokel, localized, lodge, luggage van, mail car, mail van, metro, milk train, monorail, municipal, native, nearby, nightclub, of a place, offshoot, organ, organized labor, palace car, parliamentary, parliamentary train, parlor car, parochial, particular, passenger car, passenger train, peculiar, post, pothouse, primitive, primitive settler, provincial, pub, public, public house, rack-and-pinion railroad, railroad train, railway car, rathskeller, rattler, reefer, refrigerator car, regional, resident, restricted, rolling stock, roomette, rumshop, saloon, saloon bar, sectarian, shire, shuttle, shuttle train, sleeper, small-town, smoker, smoking car, speakeasy, special, specific, state, stockcar, streamliner, subway, tank, taproom, tavern, tender, topical, town, townsman, townswoman, trade guild, trade union, train, truck, tube, underground, union local, van, vernacular, vertical union, village, waggon, way train, wine shop, wing