islands









islands


noun

  1. a tract of land completely surrounded by water, and not large enough to be called a continent.
  2. something resembling an island, especially in being isolated or having little or no direct communication with others.
  3. a raised platform with a counter or other work surface on top situated in the middle area of a room, especially a kitchen, so as to permit access from all sides.
  4. safety island.
  5. a low concrete platform for gasoline pumps at an automotive service station.
  6. a clump of woodland in a prairie.
  7. an isolated hill.
  8. Anatomy. an isolated portion of tissue differing in structure from the surrounding tissue.
  9. Railroads. a platform or building between sets of tracks.

verb (used with object)

  1. to make into an island.
  2. to dot with islands.
  3. to place on an island; isolate.

pl n

  1. the Islands NZ the islands of the South Pacific

noun

  1. a mass of land that is surrounded by water and is smaller than a continent
  2. See traffic island
  3. anatomy a part, structure, or group of cells distinct in constitution from its immediate surroundingsRelated adjective: insular

verb (tr) rare

  1. to cause to become an island
  2. to intersperse with islands
  3. to place on an island; insulate; isolate
n.

1590s, earlier yland (c.1300), from Old English igland “island,” from ieg “island” (from Proto-Germanic *aujo “thing on the water,” from PIE *akwa- “water;” see aqua-) + land “land.” Spelling modified 15c. by association with similar but unrelated isle. An Old English cognate was ealand “river-land, watered place, meadow by a river.” In place names, Old English ieg is often used of “slightly raised dry ground offering settlement sites in areas surrounded by marsh or subject to flooding” [Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names]. Related: Islander.

n.

  1. An isolated tissue or group of cells that is separated from the surrounding tissues by a groove or is marked by a difference in structure or function.

  1. A land mass, especially one smaller than a continent, entirely surrounded by water.
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