archipelago
[ ahr-kuh-pel-uh-goh ]
/ ˌɑr kəˈpɛl əˌgoʊ /
noun, plural ar·chi·pel·a·gos, ar·chi·pel·a·goes.
a large group or chain of islands: the Malay Archipelago.
any large body of water with many islands.
the Archipelago, the Aegean Sea.
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Origin of archipelago
1495–1505; alteration (archi- for arci-) of Italian arcipelago, alteration of Egeopelago the Aegean Sea < Greek Aigaîon pélagos
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for archipelago
archipelago
/ (ˌɑːkɪˈpɛlɪˌɡəʊ) /
noun plural -gos or -goes
a group of islands
a sea studded with islands
Word Origin for archipelago
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
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
archipelago
c.1500, from Italian arcipelago "the Aegean Sea" (13c.), from Greek arkhipelagos, from arkhi- "chief" (see archon) + pelagos "sea" (see pelagic). The Aegean Sea being full of island chains, the meaning was extended in Italian to "any sea studded with islands." Klein, noting the absence of arkhipelagos in ancient or Medieval Greek (the modern word in Greek is borrowed from Italian) believe it is an Italian mistake for Aigaion pelagos "Aegean Sea" (Medieval Latin Egeopelagus), or influenced by that name.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
archipelago
[ är′kə-pĕl′ə-gō′ ]
A large group of islands.
A sea, such as the Aegean, or an area in a sea containing a large number of scattered islands.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
archipelago
[ (ahr-kuh-pel-uh-goh) ]
A group of islands near one another.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.