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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.
Synonyms
Examples of island in a Sentence
Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, 9 July 2024
Before hitting Texas, Beryl moved on a destructive path through the Caribbean, forcing cruise lines to reroute and airports on popular islands like Jamaica and Grand Cayman to temporarily close.
—Alison Fox, Travel + Leisure, 8 July 2024
Kristin Braswell, Travel + Leisure, 25 June 2024
Here’s what to know about the riverine islands closest to Louisville, starting upstream:
18 Mile Island
This island sits just downstream from Westport, carved out of the Kentucky bank of the Ohio in Oldham County.
—Connor Giffin, The Courier-Journal, 23 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for island 
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 15 Jul. 2024.
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island
noun
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