archipelago
/ˌɑːkɪˈpɛləɡəʊ
/noun (plural archipelagos or archipelagoes)
1An extensive group of islands: the Indonesian archipelago...
- Within the country, a distinction is made between the capital of Nassau on New Providence Island and the out islands of the archipelago.
- There are 13 main islands in the archipelago, plus four islets and some 40 outcrops of jagged rocks.
- No, we live on a chain of islands, an archipelago, not a continent.
1.1A sea or stretch of water having many islands.Their preferred habitat is the annual sea ice over the continental shelf and inter-island archipelagos that encircle the polar basin....
- This is a fascinating archipelago at the southern end of the Red Sea.
Origin
Early 16th century: from Italian arcipelago, from Greek arkhi- 'chief' + pelagos 'sea'. The word was originally used as a proper name (the Archipelago 'the Aegean Sea'): the general sense arose because the Aegean Sea is notable for its large numbers of islands.