Sicily

American  

[sis-uh-lee] / ˈsɪs ə li /

noun

1. an island in the Mediterranean, constituting a region of Italy, and separated from the SW tip of the mainland by the Strait of Messina: largest island in the Mediterranean. 9,924 sq. mi. (25,705 sq. km). Palermo.

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Sicily British  

/ ˈsɪsɪlɪ /

noun

1. Latin names: Sicilia.   Trinacria.  Italian name: Sicilia.  the largest island in the Mediterranean, separated from the tip of SW Italy by the Strait of Messina: administratively an autonomous region of Italy; settled by Phoenicians, Greeks, and Carthaginians before the Roman conquest of 241 _bc ; under Normans (12th–13th centuries); formed the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies with Naples in 1815; mountainous and volcanic. Capital: Palermo. Pop: 4 972 124 (2003 est). Area: 25 460 sq km (9830 sq miles)

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Sicily Cultural  

1. Island in southern Italy on the Mediterranean Sea, separated from the Italian mainland by the narrow Strait of Messina. Its capital is Palermo.

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It is the largest Mediterranean island.

Other Word Forms

• Sicilian adjective

Example Sentences

In the first episode of the series, which aired on Thursday, five teams were tasked with reaching their first checkpoint, starting the race in Palermo, Sicily.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

Mercenaries known as Mamertines, who were based in northeastern Sicily, supplied the spark.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026

But when a rental company in Mussomeli, Sicily, responded to her in April 2025, saying that a property was available, she couldn’t help but be intrigued.

From Slate • Feb. 1, 2026

Gaetano Ferrera had just a few minutes to grab belongings from his home, one of hundreds evacuated after a landslide in Sicily that experts warn could worsen due to heavy rainfall.

From Barron's • Jan. 28, 2026

In Ortygia, an island which formed part of Syracuse, the greatest city of Sicily, there is a sacred spring called Arethusa.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton