a group of about 100 small islands (14 inhabited) in the Caribbean, east of Puerto Rico: discovered by Columbus (1493); consists of the British Virgin Islands in the east and the Virgin Islands of the United States in the west and south. Pop: 136 649 (2013 est). Area: 497 sq km (192 sq miles)
Virgin Islands in American English
group of islands of the Leeward group in the West Indies, east of Puerto Rico, comprising the British Virgin Islands, easternmost islands of this group, constituting a British territory (59 sq mi, 153 sq km; pop. 17,000), & the Virgin Islands of the United States, the islands of this group closest to Puerto Rico, constituting a territory of the U.S. (134 sq mi, 347 sq km; pop.109,000; cap. Charlotte Amalie: abbrev. VI)
Word origin
< Sp Las Virgenes, the virgins, so named (1493) by Columbus1 in honor of the legendary 11,000 followers of St. Ursula