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Hebrides

[heb-ri-deez]
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noun (used with a plural verb)
  1. a group of islands (Inner Hebrides and Outer Hebrides) off the W coast of and belonging to Scotland. About 2900 sq. mi. (7500 sq. km).
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Also called Western Islands.
Related formsHeb·ri·de·an, He·brid·i·an, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for hebrides

Historical Examples

  • So she went to the next shire, and liked it so well that she plunged off to London, then to the Hebrides.

    Quaint Courtships

    Various

  • The habitations of men in the Hebrides may be distinguished into huts and houses.

  • The Isle of Mull is perhaps in extent the third of the Hebrides.

  • "Cyniver" has been borrowed from Wales, and the "dumb-cake" from the Hebrides.

    The Book of Hallowe'en

    Ruth Edna Kelley

  • It is now firmly entrenched on both the Orkneys and the Hebrides.

British Dictionary definitions for hebrides

Hebrides

pl n
  1. the Hebrides a group of over 500 islands off the W coast of Scotland: separated by the North Minch, Little Minch, and the Sea of the Hebrides: the chief islands are Skye, Raasay, Rum, Eigg, Coll, Tiree, Mull, Jura, Colonsay, and Islay (Inner Hebrides), and Lewis with Harris, North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist, and Barra (Outer Hebrides)Also known as: the Western Isles
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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

Word Origin and History for hebrides

Hebrides

originally Ebudae, Haebudes, of uncertain origin. Apparently a scribal error turned -u- into -ri-. The Norse name, Suðregar, "Southern Islands," is relative to the Orkneys. Related: Hebridean.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper