isle

[ahyl]

noun

1. a small island.

2. any island.

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

/ aɪl /

noun

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

Other Word Forms

• isleless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of isle¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of isle¹

C13: from Old French isle, from Latin insula island

Example Sentences

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

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

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

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They also live in different parts of the country, with Rod in Edinburgh and Roddy settled on the scenic isle of Iona.

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A "forgotten" castle discovered on a Hebridean isle could have been home to kings who once ruled large parts of western Scotland, say archaeologists.

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Related Words

• archipelago 
• enclave 
• islet 
• peninsula 
• reef