a chain of islands in Indonesia, in the Malay Archipelago, including Borneo, Sumatra, Java, and Sulawesi (Greater Sunda Islands); and a group of smaller islands extending E from Java to Timor (Lesser Sunda Islands).
Former spelling: Soenda Islands a chain of islands in the Malay Archipelago, consisting of the Greater Sunda Islands (chiefly Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and Sulawesi) and Nusa Tenggara (the Lesser Sunda Islands)