a group of islands in the SE Aegean Sea, forming a department of Greece: part of the Southern Sporades. Capital: Rhodes. Pop: 190 071 (2001). Area: 2663 sq km (1028 sq miles)
Modern Greek name: Dodekanisa
Dodecanese in American English
(doˌdɛkəˈniz; doˈdɛkəˈnis)
group of Greek islands in the Aegean, off the SW coast of Turkey: 1,048 sq mi (2,714 sq km); pop. 163,000