Definition of island

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is·land    (lnd) KEY 

NOUN:

1. Abbr. Isl. or Is. or I. A land mass, especially one smaller than a continent, entirely surrounded by water.
2. Something resembling an island, especially in being isolated or surrounded, as:
   1. An unattached kitchen counter providing easy access from all sides.
   2. A raised curbed area, often used to delineate rows of parking spaces or lanes of traffic.
   3. 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.

TRANSITIVE VERB:
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.

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ETYMOLOGY:
Alteration (influenced by isle), of Middle English ilond from Old English egland : g, eg; see ak^w-- in Indo-European roots + land, land; see lendh- in Indo-European roots

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 *akw-, "water." *Akw- became *ahw- in Germanic by Grimm's Law and other sound changes. To this was built the adjective *ahwj-, "watery." This then evolved to *awwj- or *auwi-, which in pre-English became *aj-, and finally g or eg in Old English. Island, spelled iland, first appears in Old English in King Alfred's translation of Boethius about a.d. 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 nsula "island," a component of paennsula, "almost-island," whence our peninsula.