island
EnglishEdit
Alternative formsEdit
EtymologyEdit
From earlier iland, from Middle English iland, yland, ylond, from Old English īġland, īeġland, ēaland (“island”), from Proto-West Germanic *auwjuland, from Proto-Germanic *awjōlandą (from Proto-Germanic *awjō (“island, waterland, meadow”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ekʷeh₂) + *landą (“land”), equivalent to ey + land.
Cognate with Scots island, iland, yland (“island”), West Frisian eilân (“island”), Saterland Frisian Ailound (“island”), Dutch eiland (“island”), Low German Eiland (“island”), German Eiland (“island”), Swedish ö (“island”), Öland (“Sweden's second largest island”), Danish ø (“island”), Norwegian øy (“island”), Icelandic eyland (“island”).
The insertion of ⟨s⟩—a 16th century spelling modification—is due to a change in spelling to the unrelated term isle, which previously lacked s (cf. Middle English ile, yle). The re-addition was mistakingly carried over to include iland as well. Related also to German Aue (“water-meadow”), Latin aqua (“water”). More at ea.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
island (plural islands)
- A contiguous area of land, smaller than a continent, totally surrounded by water.
- 1624, John Donne, “17. Meditation”, in Deuotions upon Emergent Occasions, and Seuerall Steps in My Sicknes: […], London: Printed by A[ugustine] M[atthews] for Thomas Iones, OCLC 55189476; republished as Geoffrey Keynes, John Sparrow, editor, Devotions upon Emergent Occasions: […], Cambridge: At the University Press, 1923, OCLC 459265555, lines 2–3, page 98:
- No man is an Iland, intire of it selfe; every man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine; […]
- 2002, Gordon L. Rottman, World War 2 Pacific island guide:
- Sumatra is the second largest island in the East Indies and the fourth largest in the world covering 182,859 square miles.
- An entity surrounded by other entities that are very different from itself.
- an island of tranquility(a calm place surrounded by a noisy environment)
- an island of colors on a butterfly's wing
- 2018 April 10, Daniel Taylor, “Liverpool go through after Mohamed Salah stops Manchester City fightback”, in The Guardian (London)[1]:
- He was on the ball in a flash, swerving to the left of City’s goalkeeper, Ederson, before shaping his body for a tricky angled finish. He was an island of composure, floating in his 39th goal of the season with a delicate chip into the corner.
- 1939, Deseret News, October 27 1939, Roosevelt Reaffirms American Neutrality
- King Leopold, speaking in fluent English during his six minute broadcast, said Belgium stood side by side with Holland "an Island of peace in the interests of all"
- A superstructure on an aircraft carrier's deck.
- A traffic island.
- the island in the middle of a roundabout
- (by extension, West Midlands dialect) A roundabout; A traffic circle.
- Dunton island, near Birmingham, is one of the most confusingly labelled islands in the U.K.
- In Coventry, you will often hear people say: “Turn right at the island”.
- (government) An unincorporated area wholly surrounded by one or more incorporated areas.
- (grammar) A phrase from which a wh-word cannot be extracted without yielding invalid grammar.
- Adverbial subordinate clauses are islands for extraction: "They have a billion dollars of inventory that they don't know where *(it) is".
SynonymsEdit
- (land surrounded by water): ait, holm
- (an entity surrounded by other very different entities): oasis
Derived termsEdit
- Barry Island
- Cape Clear Island
- coney island
- Deer Island
- desert island
- Farne Islands
- floating island
- French Island
- Gough Island
- Grand Island
- Great Barrier Island
- Green Island
- Hayling Island
- heat island
- high island
- Holy Island
- interisland
- Island
- Island County
- island dispenser
- island display
- islander
- island-hop
- island maze
- island platform
- island position
- island site
- island state
- island universe
- islandwide
- islandy
- Kangaroo Island
- kitchen island
- Little Island
- Long Island
- low island
- Mersea Island
- no man is an island
- Norfolk Island
- North Island
- Puget Island
- Rhode Island
- Rock Island
- safety island
- sea-island
- security island
- South Island
- Stewart Island
- St. Lawrence Island
- tidal island
- traffic island
- Valentia Island
- Vancouver Island
- White Island
Related termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
area of land completely surrounded by water
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entity surrounded by other entities that are very different from itself
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
VerbEdit
island (third-person singular simple present islands, present participle islanding, simple past and past participle islanded)
- (transitive) To surround with water; make into an island.
- 1933, Harriet Monroe, Poetry: Volume 42
- We paused at little river cities along the way and walked upon their bushy dikes, and heard tales of overflows in flood seasons, when four feet or more of water islanded the houses.
- 1956, Anthony Burgess, Time for a Tiger (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 138:
- The car soon seemed islanded in water.
- 1933, Harriet Monroe, Poetry: Volume 42
- (transitive) To set, dot (as if) with islands.
- (transitive) To isolate.
- 1896, A. E. Housman, A Shropshire Lad, XXVII, lines 1-2
- High the vanes of Shrewsbury gleam
- Islanded in Severn stream.
- 1896, A. E. Housman, A Shropshire Lad, XXVII, lines 1-2
SynonymsEdit
TranslationsEdit
make into an island
set, dot (as if) with islands
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isolate
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See alsoEdit
AnagramsEdit
ScotsEdit
Alternative formsEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Old English īġland.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
island (plural islands)
- An island.