island English · revision 3281

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=c. 888, Alfred|origins=ine-pro *akʷ-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈaɪ.lənd/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|iland]], yland,^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) [[inh|ang|īegland]], īgland,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) [[af|ang|īeg|land|t1=island|t2=land]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(COED 2004) Old English īeg is from [[gem-pro|*aujō|t=thing on the water]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) built on the Germanic word for “water”, Old English ēa,^(Hoad 1986)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[ine-pro|*akʷ-|alt=*akwā-|t=water]], the source also of Latin aqua.^(AHD 2000)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Similar compounds are Old Frisian eiland, Dutch eiland and Old Norse eyland.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The second part was added to distinguish ieg from similar words such as ēa “water”.^(Etymonline) The -s- came in the 16th century from [[isle]], a word of quite different origin, which came through French from Latin.^(Cresswell 2021)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old English īgland is found before 899, in Alfred's translation of Boethius;^(Barnhart 1988) the OED's first quotation is from about 888.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In place names, Old English ieg was often used of slightly raised dry ground in a marsh,^(Etymonline) and island was used of high ground surrounded by marsh from 1620–55.^(OED 1989) The Middle English forms were yland and iland; under the influence of isle the spelling isle land is found in 1546 and island in 1598, in Hakluyt's ''Voyages'', becoming established by the late 17th century.^(Barnhart 1988) A traffic island is from 1869,^(OED 1989) and an isolated group of cells in the body from 1879.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 888 – Old English īgland.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1300 – yland.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1546 – isle land.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1598 – island, in Hakluyt.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1661 – verb, to make into an island.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1869 – a traffic island.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A piece of land smaller than a [[continent]], completely surrounded by water.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # Something isolated or surrounded, like an island: ''an island of calm''.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # A raised area in a road for pedestrians; a traffic island.^(OED 1989)

+ # ''(anatomy)'' A group of [[cell|alt=cells]] different from the surrounding tissue.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To make into an island; to [[isolate]].^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[islandish]]

+ * [[islandless]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[archipelago]]

+ * [[insular]]

+ * [[isle]]

+ * [[islet]]

+ * [[isolate]]

+ * [[peninsula]]

+ * [[aqua]]

+ * [[ait]]

+ * [[eyot]]

+ * [[land]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Kent ''the island'' meant the Isle of Thanet.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}