archipelago

archipelago
noun (plural -goes or -gos) Etymology: Archipelago Aegean Sea, from Italian Arcipelago, literally, chief sea, from arci- (from Latin archi-) + Greek pelagos sea — more at plagal Date: 1589 1. an expanse of water with many scattered islands 2. a group of islands 3. something resembling an archipelago; especially a group or scattering of similar things <
an archipelago of small parks within the city
>

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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  • Archipelago — Ar chi*pel a*go, n.; pl. { goes} or { gos}. [It. arcipelago, properly, chief sea; Gr. pref ? + ? sea, perh. akin to ? blow, and expressing the beating of the waves. See {Plague}.] [1913 Webster] 1. The Grecian Archipelago, or [AE]gean Sea,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • archipelago — (n.) c.1500, from It. arcipelago the Aegean Sea (13c.), from Gk. arkhipelagos, from arkhi chief (see ARCHON (Cf. archon)) + pelagos sea (see PELAGIC (Cf. pelagic)). The Aegean Sea being full of island chains, the meaning was extended in Italian… …   Etymology dictionary

  • archipelago — ► NOUN (pl. archipelagos or archipelagoes) ▪ an extensive group of islands. ORIGIN from Greek arkhi chief + pelagos sea (originally a name for the Aegean Sea, notable for its large number of islands) …   English terms dictionary

  • archipelago — [är΄kə pel′ə gō΄] n. pl. archipelagoes or archipelagos [It arcipelago < MGr archipelagos, orig., the Aegean Sea < Gr archi , chief + pelagos, sea: see PELAGIC] 1. a sea with many islands 2. a group or chain of many islands archipelagic… …   English World dictionary

  • archipelago — archipelagic /ahr keuh peuh laj ik/, archipelagian /ahr keuh peuh lay jee euhn, jeuhn/, adj. /ahr keuh pel euh goh /, n., pl. archipelagos, archipelagoes. 1. a large group or chain of islands: the Malay Archipelago. 2. any large body of water… …   Universalium

  • Archipelago — An archipelago (PronEng|ɑrkəˈpɛləgoʊ) is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago literally means chief sea , from Italian arcipelago (IPA|artʃiˈpelago) , derived ultimately from Greek arkhon ( arkhi ) ( leader ) and pelagos ( sea ).… …   Wikipedia

  • archipelago — noun /ɑːkɪˈpɛləɡəʊ,ɑːrkəˈpɛləɡoʊ/ a) A group of islands. The Gulag Archipelago b) Something scattered around like an archipelago. See Also: archipelagic …   Wiktionary

  • archipelago — [[t]ɑ͟ː(r)kipe̱ləgoʊ[/t]] archipelagos, archipelagoes (plural) N COUNT An archipelago is a group of islands, especially small islands. ...the Azores, a rugged, volcanic archipelago of nine islands …   English dictionary

  • archipelago — UK [ˌɑː(r)kɪˈpeləɡəʊ] / US [ˌɑrkɪˈpeləɡoʊ] noun [countable] Word forms archipelago : singular archipelago plural archipelagos 1) a large group of small islands 2) a sea or area of ocean with many islands in it …   English dictionary

  • archipelago — ar|chi|pel|a|go [ˌa:kıˈpeləgəu US ˌa:rkıˈpeləgou] n plural archipelagos [Date: 1600 1700; Origin: Archipelago Aegean sea (16 19 centuries), from Italian, main sea , from arci (from Latin archi ; ARCH ) + Greek pelagos sea ] a group of small… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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