island

is·land (ī’lənd)

n. 1) Abbr. Isl. or Is. or I. A landmass, especially one smaller than a continent, entirely surrounded by water. 2) Something resembling an island, especially in being isolated or surrounded, as: a) An unattached kitchen counter providing easy access from all sides. b) A raised curbed area, often used to delineate rows of parking spaces or lanes of traffic. c) The superstructure of a ship, especially an aircraft carrier. 3) Anatomy A cluster of cells differing in structure or function from the cells constituting the surrounding tissue.

tr.v. is·land·ed, is·land·ing, is·lands ▸ To make into or as if into an island; insulate: »

a secluded mansion, islanded by shrubbery and fences.

╂ [Alteration (influenced by ISLE(Cf. ↑isle)) of Middle English ilond, from Old English īegland : īg, īeg; see akw-ā- + land, land; see lendh-.]

Word History: It may seem hard to believe, but Latin aqua, "water," is related to island, which originally meant "watery land." Aqua comes almost unchanged from Indo-European *akwā-, "water." *Akwā- became *ahwō- in Germanic by Grimm's Law and other sound changes. To this was built the adjective *ahwjō-, "watery." This then became *awwjō- or *auwi-, which in pre-English became *ēaj-, and finally ēg or īeg in Old English. Island, spelled iland, first appears in Old English in King Alfred's translation of Boethius about AD 888; the spellings igland and ealond appear in contemporary documents. The s in island is due to a mistaken etymology, confusing the etymologically correct English iland with French isle. Isle comes ultimately from Latin īnsula "island," a component of paenīnsula, "almost-island," whence our peninsula.