archipelago

noun

ar·​chi·​pel·​a·​go ˌär-kə-ˈpe-lə-ˌgō How to pronounce archipelago (audio)
ˌär-chə-
plural archipelagoes or archipelagos
1
: an expanse of water with many scattered islands
2
: a group of islands
3
: something resembling an archipelago
especially : a group or scattering of similar things
an archipelago of small parks within the city

Did you know?

The Greeks called it the Aegean Pelagos and the Italians referred to it as Arcipelago (meaning "chief sea"), but English speakers now call it the Aegean Sea. Numerous islands dot its expanse, and 16th-century English speakers adopted a modified form of its Italian name for any sea with a similar scattering of islands. In time, archipelago came to refer to the groups of islands themselves, and now it is often used figuratively, as in, for example, "an archipelago of high-rise buildings."

Examples of archipelago in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
According to NetBlocks, an internet monitoring group, the archipelago has been almost entirely offline for more than 36 hours in the storm’s aftermath. Nazaneen Ghaffar, New York Times, 15 Dec. 2024 The rest of the top 10 rankings went to island escapes, including American Samoa, a US territory that includes seven South Pacific islands and atolls near Fiji; the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago off the coast of northwest Africa, Portugal's the Azores; and Turks and Caicos in the Caribbean. Hannah Towey, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Dec. 2024 Berkeley in those days was an archipelago of dinner parties, and my parents were no pikers. Caitlin Flanagan, The Atlantic, 9 Dec. 2024 In a story told with verve, Sands chronicles 40 years of efforts to restore the Chagos island archipelago to Mauritius from the United Kingdom. Foreign Affairs, 8 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for archipelago 

Word History

Etymology

Archipelago Aegean Sea, from Italian Arcipelago, literally, chief sea, from arci- (from Latin archi-) + Greek pelagos sea — more at plagal

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of archipelago was in 1598

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Cite this Entry

“Archipelago.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/archipelago. Accessed 24 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

archipelago

noun
ar·​chi·​pel·​a·​go ˌär-kə-ˈpel-ə-ˌgō How to pronounce archipelago (audio)
ˌär-chə-
plural archipelagoes or archipelagos
: a wide stretch of water with many scattered islands
also : a group of islands

More from Merriam-Webster on archipelago

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