terra incognita

[ ter-uh in-kog-ni-tuh, in-kog-nee-; Latin ter-rah in-kawg-ni-tah ]

noun

1. an unknown or unexplored land, region, or subject.

terra incognita

/ ˈtɛrə ɪnˈkɒɡnɪtə /

noun

1. an unexplored or unknown land, region, or area for study

Example Sentences

"As a scientist, you should be brave and not be afraid to fail. RNA editing and repair is the terra incognita. It's scary but also exciting. You feel you're working on the edge of science, pushing the limits to where nobody has been before."

From Science Daily

This is really quite intriguing as we do not know much about these parts of the genome; our work shows there is benefit in exploring further this genetic terra incognita.'

From Science Daily

Let them believe that the Puget Sound region is terra incognita and perhaps they won’t come out here.

From Seattle Times

On the map, the far northwest corner was labeled “terra incognita” with borders trailing off into an indistinct mist and sea monsters lurking in the curling waves.

From Seattle Times

For many years, the human Y chromosome was terra incognita.

From Scientific American

Related Words

• backcountry
• outback