Adjacent Words

Island definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

ISLAND, n. i'land. [This is an absurd compound of isle and land, that is, land-in-water land, or ieland-land. There is no such legitimate word in English, and it is found only in books. The genuine word always used in discourse is our native word, Sax.ealong, D.G. eiland.]
1. A tract of land surrounded by water.
2. A large mass of floating ice, is called an island of ice.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a land mass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water
2: a zone or area resembling an island

Merriam Webster's

or Ísland geographical name — see Iceland

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Usage: often attributive Etymology: alteration (influenced by Anglo-French isle) of earlier iland, from Middle English, from Old English ?gland (akin to Old Norse eyland), from ?g island (akin to Old English ?a river, Latin aqua water) + land land Date: before 12th century 1. a tract of land surrounded by water and smaller than a continent 2. something resembling an island especially in its isolated or surrounded position: as a. a usually raised area within a thoroughfare, parking lot, or driveway used especially to separate or direct traffic b. a superstructure on the deck of a ship (as an aircraft carrier) c. a kitchen counter that is approachable from all sides 3. an isolated group or area; especially an isolated ethnological group II. transitive verb Date: 1661 1. a. to make into or as if into an island b. to dot with or as if with islands 2. isolate

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a piece of land surrounded by water. 2 anything compared to an island, esp. in being surrounded in some way. 3 = traffic island. 4 a a detached or isolated thing. b Physiol. a detached portion of tissue or group of cells (cf. ISLET). 5 Naut. a ship's superstructure, bridge, etc. Etymology: OE igland f. ig island + LAND: first syll. infl. by ISLE

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Island Is"land, v. t. 1. To cause to become or to resemble an island; to make an island or islands of; to isle. --Shelley. 2. To furnish with an island or with islands; as, to island the deep. --Southey.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Island Is"land, n. [OE. iland, yland, AS. [=i]gland, ?gland, ?glond; [=i]g, ?g, island + land, lond, land. AS. [=i]g, ?g, is akin to AS. e['a] water, river, OHG. ?uwa, G. au meadow, Icel. ey island, Dan. & Sw. ["o], Goth. ahwa a stream, water, L. aqua water. The s is due to confusion with isle. Cf. Ait, Eyot, Ewer, Aquatic.] 1. A tract of land surrounded by water, and smaller than a continent. Cf. Continent. 2. Anything regarded as resembling an island; as, an island of ice. 3. (Zo["o]l.) See Isle, n., 2. Islands of the blessed (Myth.), islands supposed to lie in the Western Ocean, where the favorites of the gods are conveyed at death, and dwell in everlasting joy.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(islands) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. An island is a piece of land that is completely surrounded by water. ...the Canary Islands. N-COUNT; N-IN-NAMES

Easton's Bible Dictionary

(Heb. 'i, "dry land," as opposed to water) occurs in its usual signification (Isa. 42:4, 10, 12, 15, comp. Jer. 47:4), but more frequently simply denotes a maritime region or sea-coast (Isa. 20:6, R.V.," coastland;" 23:2, 6; Jer. 2:10; Ezek. 27:6, 7). (See CHITTIM.) The shores of the Mediterranean are called the "islands of the sea" (Isa. 11:11), or the "isles of the Gentiles" (Gen. 10:5), and sometimes simply "isles" (Ps. 72:10); Ezek. 26:15, 18; 27:3, 35; Dan. 11:18).

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Isle.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

He drank out of the bottle till he saw the island; the island is the rising bottom of a wine bottle, which appears like an island in the centre, before the bottle is quite empty.

Foolish Dictionary

A place where the bottom of the sea sticks up through the water.

Moby Thesaurus

aerodrome, air base, airdrome, airfield, airport, ait, archipelagian, archipelagic, archipelago, atoll, bar, cay, close off, continental island, coral head, coral island, coral reef, cut off, enisle, field, heliport, holm, insular, insularity, insulate, insulated, island group, island-dotted, islanded, islandish, islandlike, islandology, islandy, isle, islet, isleted, isolated, key, landing, landing field, oceanic island, port, reef, sandbank, sandbar, seagirt, segregate, separate, sequester