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

She fled and founded Carthage around 814 B.C. on the North African coast opposite Sicily.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026

The “1 euro house” idea can be traced back to about 2008 in Salemi, Sicily, as a way to encourage repopulation there.

From Slate • Feb. 1, 2026

Geologist Giuseppe Amato, head of water resources in Sicily for Legambiente, told AFP the landslide should serve as a warning as climate change leads to increasing weather extremes.

From Barron's • Jan. 28, 2026

Their destined home was on the west coast, somewhat to the north, but they must by no means take the shortest way and go up between Sicily and Italy.

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