archipelago

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a group or chain of islands

   The islands formed a long archipelago across the sea.

2. 2
   noun

   a scattered group of things resembling islands

   The city was an archipelago of neighborhoods divided by highways.

Simplified etymology

Archipelago entered English in the early 16th century from Greek-derived elements meaning “chief sea.” It was originally a proper name for the Aegean Sea, then developed the general meaning “group of islands” because the Aegean contains so many islands.

From Italian arcipelago, originally a name for the Aegean Sea, from Greek elements meaning "chief sea." Because the Aegean contains many islands, the name generalized to any island group.

Topics

External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
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