isle

American  

[ahyl] / aɪl /

noun

1. a small island.

2. any island.

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verb (used with object)

isled, isling

1. to make into or as if into an isle.

2. to place on or as if on an isle.

isle British  

/ aɪl /

noun

1. an island, esp a small one: used in literature and (when cap.) in place names

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Other Word Forms

• isleless adjective

Etymology

Origin of isle

1250–1300; Middle English i ( s ) le < Old French < Latin īnsula

Example Sentences

After checking he had not broken any bones, he hauled himself up and started heading in the direction of the Glen Rosa ferry terminal miles away, intending to travel off the isle.

From BBC

Searching out the echoes of the Celtic foundation, Mr. Robb expresses the current mood of the isles and Western Europe more broadly.

From The Wall Street Journal

Dantès endures fourteen desperate years on that curséd isle, waiting for a window of opportunity to escape.

From Literature

‘I rue the day I set foot on that curséd isle!’

From Literature

In the depths of winter, Scotland's northern isles will see barely six hours of daylight from morning till night.

From BBC

Related Words

• archipelago
• enclave
• islet
• peninsula
• reef