island

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Meaning

1. A contiguous area of land, smaller than a continent, totally surrounded by water.
2. A contiguous area of land, smaller than a continent, partially surrounded by water; A peninsula; A half-island.
3. An entity surrounded by other entities that are very different from itself.
4. A superstructure on an aircraft carrier's deck.
5. A traffic island.
6. A roundabout; a traffic circle.
7. A bench, counter, etc., that is not connected to a wall or other furniture and which can be used from any side.
8. An unincorporated area wholly surrounded by one or more incorporated areas.
9. A phrase from which a wh-word cannot be extracted without yielding invalid grammar.

isle

low ground

island country

sand-bank

safety strip

key cay

Frequency

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈaɪlənd/

From earlier iland, from Middle English iland, yland, ylond, from Old English īeġland, 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. Doublet of Öland. 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”), øyland (“large 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 mistakenly carried over to include iland as well. Related also to German Aue (“water-meadow”), Latin aqua (“water”). More at ea.