Which word is more appropriate in a geographical mapping context when referring to counties in a state, contiguous states within a country, contiguous countries within a continent, etc?
Are they interchangeable? Based on this n-gram 'coterminous' is more common, though 'conterminous' seems more accurate?
Coterminous
- having the same border or covering the same area
- being the same in extent; coextensive in range or scope
Conterminous
- having a common boundary; bordering; contiguous
- meeting at the ends; without an intervening gap
Best Answer
The set of all counties would be coterminous with the state as a whole, occupying the same area.
One county would be conterminous with a neighboring county, having a common border.