island
noun
[ ˈʌɪlənd ]
• a piece of land surrounded by water.
• "the island of Crete"
Similar:
isle,
islet,
atoll,
key,
cay,
ait,
holm,
skerry,
archipelago,
chain,
group,
• a thing regarded as resembling an island, especially in being isolated, detached, or surrounded in some way.
• "he is an island of inspiration in a sea of sadness"
• a detached portion of tissue or group of cells.
Origin:
Old English īegland, from īeg ‘island’ (from a base meaning ‘watery, watered’) + land. The change in the spelling of the first syllable in the 16th century was due to association with the unrelated word isle.
