archipelago

[ ahr-kuh-pel-uh-goh ]
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noun,plural ar·chi·pel·a·gos, ar·chi·pel·a·goes.
  1. a large group or chain of islands: the Malay Archipelago.

  2. any large body of water with many islands.

  1. the Archipelago, the Aegean Sea.

Origin of archipelago

1
1495–1505; alteration (archi- for arci-) of Italian arcipelago, alteration of Egeopelago the Aegean Sea <Greek Aigaîon pélagos

Other words from archipelago

  • ar·chi·pe·lag·ic [ahr-kuh-puh-laj-ik], /ˌɑr kə pəˈlædʒ ɪk/, ar·chi·pe·la·gi·an [ahr-kuh-puh-ley-jee-uhn, -juhn], /ˌɑr kə pəˈleɪ dʒi ən, -dʒən/, adjective

Words Nearby archipelago

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use archipelago in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for archipelago

archipelago

/ (ˌɑːkɪˈpɛlɪˌɡəʊ) /


nounplural -gos or -goes
  1. a group of islands

  2. a sea studded with islands

Origin of archipelago

1
C16 (meaning: the Aegean Sea): from Italian arcipelago, literally: the chief sea (perhaps originally a mistranslation of Greek Aigaion pelagos the Aegean Sea), from archi- + pelago sea, from Latin pelagus, from Greek pelagos

Derived forms of archipelago

  • archipelagic (ˌɑːkɪpəˈlædʒɪk) or archipelagian (ˌɑːkɪpəˈleɪdʒɪən), adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for archipelago

archipelago

[ är′kə-pĕlə-gō′ ]


  1. A large group of islands.

  2. A sea, such as the Aegean, or an area in a sea containing a large number of scattered islands.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for archipelago

archipelago

[ (ahr-kuh-pel-uh-goh) ]


A group of islands near one another.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.