Sardinia

[sahr-din-ee-uh, -din-yuh] /sɑrˈdɪn i ə, -ˈdɪn yə/
noun
1.
a large island in the Mediterranean, W of Italy: with small nearby islands it comprises a department of Italy. 9301 sq. mi. (24,090 sq. km).
2.
a former kingdom 1720–1860, including this island and Savoy, Piedmont, and Genoa (after 1815) in NW Italy: ruled by the House of Savoy.
Capital: Turin.
Italian Sardegna
[sahr-de-nyah] /sɑrˈdɛ nyɑ/ (Show IPA)
.
British Dictionary definitions for Sardinia

Sardinia

/sɑːˈdɪnɪə/
noun
1.
the second-largest island in the Mediterranean: forms, with offshore islands, an administrative region of Italy; ceded to Savoy by Austria in 1720 in exchange for Sicily and formed the Kingdom of Sardinia with Piedmont; became part of Italy in 1861. Capital: Cagliari. Pop: 1 637 639 (2003 est). Area: 24 089 sq km (9301 sq miles) Italian name Sardegna
Word Origin and History for Sardinia

large island west of Italy, Latin, from Greek Sardo; perhaps named for the local Iberian people who settled there; the original form and meaning of the name is lost. A Punic (Phoenician) stelle from 7c. B.C.E. refers to it as Shardan. The oblique cases are sometimes Sardonos, etc., as if from *Sardon. Related: Sardinian.

Sardinia in Culture

Sardinia definition


Italian island in the Mediterranean Sea west of the mainland of Italy.

Note: The kingdom of Sardinia, which was founded in the early eighteenth century, became the nucleus of united Italy during the nineteenth century.