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mainland

[meyn-land, -luhnd]

Origin

noun

the principal land of a country, region, etc., as distinguished from adjacent islands or a peninsula: the mainland of Greece.

(in Hawaii) the 48 contiguous states of the U.S.

Origin:
1325–75; Middle English; see main¹, land

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Mainland is always a great word to know.

So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:

an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.

a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.

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Dictionary.com Unabridged

noun

the largest of the Shetland Islands. 18,268; about 200 sq. mi. (520 sq. km).

Pomona (def. 3).

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To mainland

Collins

World English Dictionary

mainland (ˈmeɪnlənd)

—n
1.	the main part of a land mass as opposed to an island or peninsula
2.	the mainland a particular landmass as viewed from a nearby island with which it has close links, such as Great Britain as viewed from Northern Ireland or continental Australia as viewed from Tasmania

'mainlander

—n

Mainland (ˈmeɪnlənd)

—n
1.	an island off N Scotland: the largest of the Shetland Islands. Chief town: Lerwick. Pop: 17 550 (2001). Area: about 583 sq km (225 sq miles)
2.	Also called: Pomona an island off N Scotland: the largest of the Orkney Islands. Chief town: Kirkwall. Pop: 15 315 (2001). Area: 492 sq km (190 sq miles)
3.	(NZ) the Mainland a South Islanders' name for South Island

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

mainland

late 14c. from main (adj.) + land (n.).

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Matching Quote

"We went to see the ocean, and that is probably the best place of all our coast to go to. If you go by water, you may experience what it is to leave and to approach these shores; you may see the stormy petrel by the way, thalassodroma, running over the sea, and if the weather is but a little thick, may lose sight of the land in mid-passage. I do not know where there is another beach in the Atlantic States, attached to the mainland, so long, and at the same time so straight, and completely uninterrupted by creeks or coves or fresh-water rivers and marshes."

-Henry David Thoreau

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mainland

main·land

Main·land