peninsula

[ puh-nin-suh-luh, -nins-yuh-luh ]

/ pəˈnɪn sə lə, -ˈnɪns yə lə /

noun

an area of land almost completely surrounded by water except for an isthmus connecting it with the mainland.

the Peninsula,

Spain and Portugal together; Iberian Peninsula; Iberia.
a district in SE Virginia between the York and James rivers: Civil War battles.

Nearby words

penicillinase, penicillium, penicillus, penile, penillion, peninsula, peninsula war, peninsular state, peninsular war, peninsulate, penis

Origin of peninsula

1530–40; < Latin paenīnsula, equivalent to paen- pen- + īnsula island

Related forms

pen·in·su·lar, adjectivepen·in·su·lar·ism, pen·in·su·lar·i·ty

[puh-nin-suh-lar-i-tee, -nins-yuh-] /pəˌnɪn səˈlær ɪ ti, -ˌnɪns yə-/, nountrans·pen·in·su·lar, adjective

Can be confused

cape peninsula promontory

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for peninsular

Andhra Pradesh, stretching from central to peninsular India, is larger than New Zealand.
India’s Newest State Telangana Is Bosnia Redux|Kranti Rai|March 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Wellington's peninsular campaigns and Napoleon's fall changed the face of affairs in Spain.
The South American Republics, Part II (of 2)|Thomas C. Dawson
McClellan's Peninsular route had resulted still more fatally.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 17, No. 99, January, 1866|Various
It consists of a peninsular portion called Jutland, and an extensive archipelago lying east of it.
Kelly Miller's History of the World War for Human Rights|Kelly Miller

This was dangerous in the face of the enemy (cf. the Peninsular War), and it was also uneconomical.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 3|Various
The other is situated in a bay on a spot of a peninsular form contiguous to Attica.
The Geography of Strabo, Volume II (of 3)|Strabo

British Dictionary definitions for peninsular (1 of 2)

Peninsula

noun

the Peninsula short for the Iberian Peninsula

British Dictionary definitions for peninsular (2 of 2)

peninsula

/ (pɪˈnɪnsjʊlə) /

noun

a narrow strip of land projecting into a sea or lake from the mainland

Derived Forms

peninsular, adjective

Word Origin for peninsula

C16: from Latin, literally: almost an island, from paene pene- + insula island

usage

The noun peninsula is sometimes confused with the adjective peninsular: the Iberian peninsula (not peninsular)

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

Science definitions for peninsular

peninsula

[ pə-nĭn′syə-lə ]

A piece of land that projects into a body of water and is connected with a larger landmass.

Culture definitions for peninsular

peninsula

A body of land enclosed on three sides by water, jutting out from a larger body of land.