archipelago

[ ahr-kuh-pel-uh-goh ]
/ ˌɑr kəˈpɛl əˌgoʊ /

noun, plural ar·chi·pel·a·gos, ar·chi·pel·a·goes.

a large group or chain of islands: the Malay Archipelago.
any large body of water with many islands.
the Archipelago, the Aegean Sea.

Origin of archipelago

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-uh n, -juh n] /ˌɑr kə pəˈleɪ dʒi ən, -dʒən/, adjective

Example sentences from the Web for archipelago

British Dictionary definitions for archipelago

archipelago
/ (ˌɑːkɪˈpɛlɪˌɡəʊ) /

noun plural -gos or -goes

a group of islands
a sea studded with islands

Derived forms of archipelago

archipelagic (ˌɑːkɪpəˈlædʒɪk) or archipelagian (ˌɑːkɪpəˈleɪdʒɪən), adjective

Word Origin for archipelago

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

Scientific definitions for archipelago

archipelago
[ är′kə-pĕlə-gō′ ]

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

Cultural definitions for archipelago

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

A group of islands near one another.