Tenerife

Or Ten·er·iffe

[ten-uh-rif, -reef, te-ne-ree-fe]

noun

1. the largest of the Canary Islands, off the northwestern coast of Africa. 794 sq. mi. (2,055 sq. km). Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

2. Pico de Tenerife Pico de Teide.

Tenerife

/ teneˈrife, ˌtɛnəˈriːf /

noun

1. a Spanish island in the Atlantic, off the NW coast of Africa: the largest of the Canary Islands; volcanic and mountainous; tourism and agriculture. Capital: Santa Cruz. Pop: 778 071 (2002 est). Area: 2058 sq km (795 sq miles)

Word History and Origins

Origin of Tenerife¹

First recorded in 1595–1600; from Guanche (an extinct Berber language spoken on the Canary Islands) tene, teni “mountain” + ife “white,” specifically Mount Teide ( def. )

Example Sentences

The mother of Jay Slater, who died after going missing in Tenerife last summer, has stepped up her campaign for a new law to tackle online trolls.

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Once we boarded the ship in Rome, we unpacked and didn’t pull the suitcases out again until the last night—and my mom still got to see Cartagena, Malaga, Tenerife and Gibraltar.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

A woman died after being pulled into the ocean near the the Puerto de la Cruz resort and a man died at Santa Cruz de Tenerife, emergency services said on Sunday.

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Three people died Saturday in separate incidents linked to rough seas on the Spanish holiday island of Tenerife, local emergency services said.

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Police investigators described "high-pressure" sales meetings in offices in Bournemouth, York, Stratford-on-Avon or Tenerife, which often lasted up to six hours.

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