peninsula

[puh-nin-suh-luh, -nins-yuh-luh] /pəˈnɪn sə lə, -ˈnɪns yə lə/
noun
1.
an area of land almost completely surrounded by water except for an isthmus connecting it with the mainland.
2.
the Peninsula,
  1. Spain and Portugal together; Iberian Peninsula; Iberia.
  2. a district in SE Virginia between the York and James rivers: Civil War battles.
Origin
1530-40; < Latin paenīnsula, equivalent to paen- pen- + īnsula island
Related forms
peninsular, adjective
peninsularism, peninsularity
[puh-nin-suh-lar-i-tee, -nins-yuh-] /pəˌnɪn səˈlær ɪ ti, -ˌnɪns yə-/ (Show IPA), noun
transpeninsular, adjective
Can be confused
cape, peninsula, promontory.
Examples from the web for peninsula
  • The stadium, which will sit on an artificial peninsula in the gulf, is designed to evoke its marine setting.
  • Foreigners need defence-ministry permission to visit the peninsula.
  • It sits on a sandy peninsula that has been spared from the tacky development that has overrun much of Cancún.
  • It's the same story up and down the peninsula.
  • Shore accent that traces back to the English colonists who began settling the peninsula in 1608.
  • The family's expected visit comes during high tensions on the Korean peninsula.
  • The line of buildings descends in steps, and curves at the tip of the peninsula.
  • The peninsula itself is mostly rock with small beaches and patches of sand tucked among the outcroppings and crevices.
  • But the narrow peninsula contains relatively little inland ice.
  • That peninsula is almost ungovernable.
British Dictionary definitions for peninsula

peninsula

/pɪˈnɪnsjʊlə/
noun
1.
a narrow strip of land projecting into a sea or lake from the mainland
Derived Forms
peninsular, adjective
Usage note
The noun peninsula is sometimes confused with the adjective peninsular: the Iberian peninsula (not peninsular)
Word Origin
C16: from Latin, literally: almost an island, from paenepene- + insula island

Peninsula

noun
1.
the Peninsula, short for the Iberian Peninsula
Word Origin and History for peninsula
n.

1530s, from Latin pæninsula "a peninsula," literally "almost an island," from pæne "almost" + insula "island" (see isle). Earlier translated as demie island.

peninsula in Science
peninsula
  (pə-nĭn'syə-lə)   
A piece of land that projects into a body of water and is connected with a larger landmass.
peninsula in Culture

peninsula definition


A body of land enclosed on three sides by water, jutting out from a larger body of land.