1. The northernmost region of the habitable world as thought of by ancient geographers.
2. A distant territory or destination.
3. A remote goal or ideal: "the ultima Thule of technology, the ne plus ultra . . . the answer to every earthly problem" (John Gould).

[Latin ultima Thūlē : ultima, feminine of ultimus, farthest + Thūlē, Thule.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.