Rhode Island

[rohd] /roʊd/
noun
1.
a state of the NE United States, on the Atlantic coast: a part of New England. 1214 sq. mi. (3145 sq. km).
Capital: Providence.
Abbreviation: RI (for use with zip code), R.I.
Related forms
Rhode Islander, noun
British Dictionary definitions for Rhode Island

Rhode Island

/rəʊd/
noun
1.
a state of the northeastern US, bordering on the Atlantic: the smallest state in the US; mainly low-lying and undulating, with an indented coastline in the east and uplands in the northwest Capital: Providence. Pop: 1 076 164 (2003 est). Area: 2717 sq km (1049 sq miles) Abbreviations R.I, (with zip code) RI
Word Origin and History for Rhode Island

U.S. state, the region is traditionally said to have been named by Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano when he passed through in 1524, based on an imagined similarity between modern Block Island and the Greek Isle of Rhodes. More likely from Roodt Eylandt, the name Dutch explorer Adriaen Block gave to Block Island c.1614, literally "red island," so called for the color of its cliffs. Under this theory, the name was altered by 17c. English settlers by influence of the Greek island name (see Rhodes), and then extended to the mainland part of the colony. Block Island later (by 1685) was renamed for the Dutch explorer.

Rhode Island in Culture

Rhode Island definition


State in the northeastern United States; one of the New England states. Bordered by Massachusetts to the north and east, the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and Connecticut to the west. Its capital and largest city is Providence.

Note: One of the thirteen colonies.
Note: After he was banished from Massachusetts for speaking out in favor of religious toleration, Roger Williams established the first settlement in the area at Providence in the early seventeenth century.
Note: Rhode Island is the smallest state of the United States.