archipelago

[ahr-kuh-pel-uh-goh]

noun

plural

archipelagos, archipelagoes 

1. a large group or chain of islands.

   the Malay Archipelago.

2. any large body of water with many islands.

3. the Archipelago, the Aegean Sea.

archipelago

/ ˌɑːkɪpəˈleɪdʒɪən, ˌɑːkɪˈpɛlɪˌɡəʊ, ˌɑːkɪpəˈlædʒɪk /

noun

1. a group of islands

2. a sea studded with islands

archipelago

1. A large group of islands.

2. A sea, such as the Aegean, or an area in a sea containing a large number of scattered islands.

archipelago

1. A group of islands near one another.

Other Word Forms

• archipelagic adjective
• archipelagian adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of archipelago¹

1495–1505; alteration ( archi- for arci- ) of Italian arcipelago, alteration of Egeopelago the Aegean Sea < Greek Aigaîon pélagos

Word History and Origins

Origin of archipelago¹

C16 (meaning: the Aegean Sea): from Italian arcipelago, literally: the chief sea (perhaps originally a mistranslation of Greek Aigaion pelagos the Aegean Sea), from _archi- + pelago sea, from Latin pelagus, from Greek pelagos

Example Sentences

Kit Kovacs, a scientist at the Norwegian Polar Institute, raised the alarm about the Svalbard archipelago, halfway between Norway and the North Pole.

Read more on Barron's

Students on the Talaud Islands, an archipelago close to the Philippine border, have been sent home, but the situation remains calm, a local official told the BBC.

Read more on BBC

The archipelago is vulnerable to climate change and is facing rising sea levels, the deterioration of the marine ecosystem -- particularly its coral reefs -- as well as landslides, flooding and drought.

Read more on Barron's

A short-lived cyberattack sought to topple the archipelago’s internet on Tuesday, local officials said.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Throughout the Channel Islands, an archipelago referred to as the Galapagos of North America, removing invasive species had led to recovery.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• enclave 
• isle 
• islet 
• peninsula 
• reef