Ryukyu

American  

[ryoo-kyoo, ree-oo-kyoo] / ˈryu kyu, riˈu kyu /

noun

1. a chain of Japanese islands in the western Pacific Ocean between Japan and Taiwan. 3,120 square miles (1,205 square kilometers).

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Etymology

Origin of Ryukyu

First recorded in 1930–45; from Japanese Ryūkyū Shōto “Ryukyu Archipelago”

Example Sentences

They conducted fieldwork during three flowering seasons between 2020 and 2022 on five islands of the Ryukyu Archipelago.

From Science Daily • Mar. 27, 2024

Two U.S. aircraft carriers, the USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan, had been operating around the geopolitically important Ryukyu Islands in the Philippine Sea since Thursday, Global Times cited a Beijing-based think tank as saying.

From Reuters • Jun. 12, 2023

The other choke point is in the Miyako Strait, east of Taiwan in Japan’s Ryukyu Islands.

From Washington Times • Feb. 1, 2023

During the day, pale thrushes and Ryukyu robins visited the bright red fruits, but the birds tended to consume only a little bit of fruit at a time.

From New York Times • Jan. 26, 2023

Excepting the twin sister tongue spoken in the Ryukyu Islands," writes Professor Chamberlain, "the Japanese language has no kindred, and its classification under any of the recognized linguistic families remains doubtful.

From A History of the Japanese People From the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era by Brinkley, F. (Frank)