Melanesia

[ mel-uh-nee-zhuh, -shuh ]

/ ˌmɛl əˈni ʒə, -ʃə /

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noun

one of the three principal divisions of Oceania, comprising the island groups in the S Pacific NE of Australia.

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Words nearby Melanesia

melancholiac, melancholic, melancholy, Melanchthon, melanedema, Melanesia, Melanesian, Melanesian Pidgin English, mélange, melanic, Melanie

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use Melanesia in a sentence

This instrument is a genuine product of Melanesia, and was doubtless acquired from this region by the Malayan tribes.
Elements of Folk Psychology|Wilhelm Wundt
Where the bow and arrow exist, as in Melanesia and America, the arrow-ladder is frequently employed for the celestial journey.
Elements of Folk Psychology|Wilhelm Wundt
Why should the bird be found in Polynesia, having skipped all the intermediate islands of Melanesia?
Voyage of H.M.S. Pandora|Edward Edwards
Polynesia, Micronesia, Melanesia, are the names by which we know them.
The Pacific Triangle|Sydney Greenbie

Precisely the same phenomena meet us, as we are to see, in Melanesia.
Social Origins and Primal Law|Andrew Lang

British Dictionary definitions for Melanesia

Melanesia

/ (ˌmɛləˈniːzɪə) /

noun

one of the three divisions of islands in the Pacific (the others being Micronesia and Polynesia); the SW division of Oceania: includes Fiji, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, the Bismarck Archipelago, and the Louisiade, Solomon, Santa Cruz, and Loyalty Islands, which all lie northeast of Australia

Word Origin for Melanesia

C19: from Greek melas black + nēsos island; with reference to the dark skins of the inhabitants; on the model of Polynesia

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