Riphaean /ˈɹɪfɪən/ adjective1 •(historical) Designating a range of mountains once thought to be located in northern Europe, later considered mythological or identified with the Urals.The substance, whereof she the body made, / Was purest snow in massy mould congeald, / Which she had gathered in a shady glade / Of the Riphoean hills […] — 1590
