Ul`tra*mon"tane (?), [LL. ultramontanus; L. ultra beyond + montanus belonging to a mountain, from mons, montis, mountain: cf. F. ultramontain, It. ultramontano. See Ultra-, and Mountain.]
Being beyond the mountains; specifically, being beyond the Alps, in respect to the one who speaks.
This term was first applied, somewhat contemptuously, by the Italians, to the nations north of the Alps, especially the Germans and French, their painters, jurists, etc. At a later period, the French and Germans applied it to the Italians. It is now more particularly used in respect to religious matters; and ultramontane doctrines, when spoken of north of the Alps, denote the extreme views of the pope's rights and supremacy maintained by Bellarmin and other Italian writers.
© Webster 1913.
Ul`tra*mon"tane, n.
1.
One who resides beyond the mountains, especially beyond the Alps; a foreigner.
2.
One who maintains extreme views favoring the pope's supremacy. See Ultramontanism.
© Webster 1913.