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The words island and isle are etymologically distinct. Island can be traced back to Old English īgland, composed of two elements īg and land. Land, as we might expect means “land,” but īg means “island” in Old English. In a sense, then, īgland is “island-land.” The English isle, on the other hand, is derived through medieval French from the Latin insula. In the 16th century, under the influence of isle, the letter s was added to iland, the earlier form of island. The verb island did not appear until the 17th century.
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Examples of island in a Sentence
Grace Tucker, The Enquirer, 13 Aug. 2024
Taiwan competes at the Olympics as Chinese Taipei to avoid objections from China, whose ruling Communist Party claims the democratically governed island as its own territory despite having never controlled it.
—Nectar Gan, CNN, 12 Aug. 2024
Jack Kiyonaga, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 Aug. 2024
In 2012, mass protests erupted over Japan's purchase of the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, islands that China claims as its own.
—The Week Uk, theweek, 14 July 2024
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'island.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Island.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/island. Accessed 19 Aug. 2024.
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island
noun
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