island

[ahy-luh nd] /ˈaɪ lənd/

noun

a tract of land completely surrounded by water, and not large enough to be called a continent.

something resembling an island, especially in being isolated or having little or no direct communication with others.

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.

safety island.

a low concrete platform for gasoline pumps at an automotive service station.

a clump of woodland in a prairie.

an isolated hill.

Anatomy. an isolated portion of tissue differing in structure from the surrounding tissue.

Railroads. a platform or building between sets of tracks.

verb (used with object)

10.

to make into an island.

11.

to dot with islands.

12.

to place on an island; isolate.

Origin

before 900; Middle English iland, Old English īgland, īland, variant of īegland, equivalent to īeg island (cognate with Old Norse ey) + land land; spelling with -s- by association with isle

Related forms

islandish, islandlike, adjective

islandless, adjective

Examples from the web for island

Another of the island's infrastructure-management systems has become a model for the world: that for water.
When the river is full water runs through it, converting the point of land into an island.
Owning an island retreat has become a reality for a considerable number of families.
But how they arrived on the island has baffled scientists for centuries.
Global warming threatens to swamp a small island nation.
The people-fleeing-from-dinosaurs-on-an-island bit has been done.
Unusual island crows wandered about, as ready to munch on fruit as rob a nest or scavenge leftovers.
Conspiracy theorists will insist that an entire population was banished to a faraway island, where they step-danced to oblivion.
Tourists who came to the island for the weekend would sometimes wander into the research station for a conversation.
It didn't used to be so solitary, but humans introduced goats to the island, which ate every other member of its species.

British Dictionary definitions for island

island

/ˈaɪlənd/

noun

a mass of land that is surrounded by water and is smaller than a continent

See traffic island

(anatomy) a part, structure, or group of cells distinct in constitution from its immediate surroundings related adjective insular

verb (transitive) (rare)

to cause to become an island

to intersperse with islands

to place on an island; insulate; isolate

Derived Forms

island-like, adjective

Word Origin

Old English īgland, from īg island + land; s inserted through influence of isle

Word Origin and History for island

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.

island in Medicine

island is·land (ī'lənd)
n.
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.

island in Science

island

(ī'lənd)
A land mass, especially one smaller than a continent, entirely surrounded by water.

island in the Bible

(Heb. 'i, "dry land," as opposed to water) occurs in its usual signification (Isa. 42:4, 10, 12, 15, comp. Jer. 47:4), but more frequently simply denotes a maritime region or sea-coast (Isa. 20:6, R.V.," coastland;" 23:2, 6; Jer. 2:10; Ezek. 27:6, 7). (See CHITTIM.) The shores of the Mediterranean are called the "islands of the sea" (Isa. 11:11), or the "isles of the Gentiles" (Gen. 10:5), and sometimes simply "isles" (Ps. 72:10); Ezek. 26:15, 18; 27:3, 35; Dan. 11:18).