isle English · revision 16154

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1290, South English Legendary|origins=la īnsula}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /aɪ̯l/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|ile]], [[bor|fro|ile]] (earlier ''isle'', modern [[fr|île]]),^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2024) from [[la|īnsula|t=island]],^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) a word of uncertain origin;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) following the ancients, some derive it from [[m|la|in|t=in]] and the ablative of [[m|la|salum|t=open sea]], "that which is in the sea".^(Klein 1966)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) Middle French restored the spelling with ''s'' in the 15th century after Latin, and English followed, rarely before the late 1500s and regularly from Spenser on.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 2026)^(ODE 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An island: about 1290, in the ''South English Legendary'';^(OED 2026) Barnhart dates ''ile'' probably about 1225.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The older spelling ''ile'' survived until about 1700.^(OED 2026) In the Wycliffite Bible ''isles'' rendered the Hebrew word for lands beyond the sea, as in ''isles of the Gentiles''.^(OED 2026) Isle is now chiefly literary or used of small islands, except in names such as ''the British Isles'' and the ''[[Isle of Man]]''.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) Its ''s'' also spread to the unrelated ''[[island]]'', from Old English ''īgland''.^(MW Word Histories)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1225 – ''ile''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1290 – an island.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1470 – the spelling ''isle''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1596 – the verb, to make an isle of.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1670 – a block of buildings (from Latin ''insula'').^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An [[island]], especially a small one; used chiefly in literature and in place names.^(AHD 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[isleless]]

+ * [[enisle]]

+ * [[British Isles]]

+ * [[Fair Isle]]

+ * [[Isle of Ely]]

+ * [[Isle of Man]]

+ * [[Isle of Wight]]

+ * [[Scilly Isles]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[insulate]]

+ * [[insulation]]

+ * [[islet]]

+ * [[insular]]

+ * [[peninsula]]

+ * [[island]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}