Dictionary:
ar·chi·pel·a·go (är'kə-pĕl'ə-gō')  |
[Italian Arcipelago, the Aegean Sea, alteration (influenced by arci-, chief, archi-) of Medieval Latin Ēgēopelagus : Latin Aegaeus, Ēgēus, Aegean (from Greek Aigaios) + Latin pelagus, sea (from Greek pelagos).]
archipelagic ar'chi·pe·lag'ic (-pə-lăj'ĭk) adj.| 5min Related Video: archipelago |
| Wordsmith Words: archipelago |
(ahr-kuh-PEL-uh-go)
noun
A large group of islands.
Etymology
From Italian arcipelago (the Aegean Sea), from Latin Egeopelagus, from arkhi- (chief) + pelagos (sea). Ultimately from the Indo-European root plak- (to be flat) which is also the source of words such as flake, flaw, placate, plead, please, and plank. Originally the term referred to the Aegean Sea (an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Turkey) that has numerous islands
An aerial picture of the Archipelago Sea (part of the Baltic Sea), Finland:
A map of the Archipelago Sea: wordsmith.org/words/images/archipelago_map_large.jpg (Image source: Wikipedia)
| Geography Dictionary: archipelago |
Originally meaning an island-studded sea, such as the Aegean Sea, but now referring to a group of islands, such as the Bismarck Archipelago, to the east of Papua New Guinea.
| Columbia Encyclopedia: Archipelago |
| Geography: archipelago |
| Wikipedia: Archipelago |
An archipelago (pronounced /ɑrkɨˈpɛləɡoʊ/) is a chain or cluster of islands that are formed tectonically. The word archipelago is directly derived from the Greek arkhon (arkhi-) ("main" - and so "leader" in "monarchy" for example) and pelagos ("sea"). In Italian, possibly following a tradition of antiquity, the Archipelago (Greek: Αρχιπέλαγος) was the proper name for the Aegean Sea and, later, usage shifted to refer to the Aegean Islands (since the sea is remarkable for its large number of islands). It is now used to generally refer to any island group or, sometimes, to a sea containing a large number of scattered islands like the Aegean Sea.[1]
Contents |
Archipelagos are usually found in the open sea; less commonly, a large land mass may neighbour them. For example, Scotland has more than 700 islands surrounding its mainland. Archipelagos are often volcanic, forming along island arcs generated by subduction zones or hotspots, but there are many other processes involved in their construction, including erosion, deposition, and land elevation.
The five largest modern countries that are mainly archipelagos are Japan, the Philippines, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Indonesia. The largest archipelago in the world, by size, is Indonesia.[2] The archipelago with the most islands is the Archipelago Sea in Finland, but these islands are generally small.
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| Translations: Archipelago |
Dansk (Danish)
n. - øgruppe, øhav
Français (French)
n. - archipel
Deutsch (German)
n. - Archipel, Inselgruppe
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - αρχιπέλαγος
Português (Portuguese)
n. - arquipélago (m) (Geog.)
Español (Spanish)
n. - archipiélago
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - skärgård
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
群岛, 多岛海
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 群島, 多島海
한국어 (Korean)
n. - 군도[가 있는 해역], 에게 해
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) أرخبيل : مجموعه من الجزر
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - קבוצת איים קטנים, ארכיפלג, ים עם איים רבים
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Copyrights:
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Wordsmith Words. © 2009 Wordsmith.org. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Geography Dictionary. A Dictionary of Geography. Copyright © Susan Mayhew 1992, 1997, 2004. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/. Read more |
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| Geography. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Archipelago". Read more |
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| Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved. Read more |
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