Meaning and Origin
What does the name Island mean? Keep reading to find the user submitted meanings, dictionary definitions, and more.
User Submitted Origins
User Submitted Meanings
- According to a user from Ohio, U.S., the name Island is of English origin and means "Beautiful and unique and very different in a good way.Being inspiring".
- A user from Ohio, U.S. says the name Island is of Hawaiian origin and means "A small piece of land surrounded by crystal clear water".
- A tract of land surrounded by water, and smaller than a continent. Cf. Continent.
- Anything regarded as resembling an island; as, an island of ice.
- [Zoöl] See Isle (n.), 2.
Etymology: OE. iland yland, AS. īgland �gland �glond; īg �g, island + land lond, land. AS. īg �g, is akin to AS. eá water, river, OHG. �uwa, G. au meadow, Icel. ey island, Dan. & Sw. ö, Goth. ahwa a stream, water, L. aqua water. The s is due to confusion with isle. Cf. Ait Eyot Ewer Aquatic
- To cause to become or to resemble an island; to make an island or islands of; to isle.
- To furnish with an island or with islands; as, to island the deep.
- A zone or area resembling an island
- A land mass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water
From earlier iland, from Middle English iland, yland, ylond, from Old English īġland, īeġland, ēaland (“island”), from Old English īeġ (“island”) (from Proto-Germanic *awjō (“island, waterland, meadow”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ekʷeh₂) + land (“land”), equivalent to ea + land. Cognate with Scots iland, yland (“island”), West Frisian eilân (“island”), Saterland Frisian Ailound (“island”), Dutch eiland (“island”), Low German Eiland (“island”), German Eiland (“island”), Danish ø (“island”), Icelandic eyland (“island”). The erroneous insertion of s—a late (16th century) spelling modification—is due to unrelated term isle. Related also to German Aue (“water-meadow”), Latin aqua (“water”). More at ea.
- A contiguous area of land, smaller than a continent, totally surrounded by water.
- An entity surrounded by other entities that are very different from itself.
- an of tranquility (a calm place surrounded by a noisy environment)
- an of colour on a butterfly's wing
- A superstructure on an aircraft carrier's deck.
- A traffic island.
- the in the middle of a roundabout
- (government) An unincorporated area wholly surrounded by one or more incorporated areas.
- (grammar) A phrase from which a wh-word cannot be extracted without yielding invalid grammar.
island was also found in the following language(s): Scots