different between island vs avalon

English

Alternative forms

• iland (archaic)
• ylond, ylelond, yland (obsolete)

Etymology

From earlier iland, from Middle English iland, yland, ylond, from Old English ??land, ?e?land, ?aland (“island”), from Proto-Germanic *awj?land? (from Proto-Germanic *awj? (“island, waterland, meadow”), from Proto-Indo-European *h?ek?eh?) + *land? (“land”), equivalent to ey +? land.

Cognate with Scots island, iland, yland (“island”), West Frisian eilân (“island”), Saterland Frisian Ailound (“island”), Dutch eiland (“island”), Low German Eiland (“island”), German Eiland (“island”), Swedish ö (“island”), Danish ø (“island”), Norwegian øy (“island”), Icelandic eyland (“island”).

The insertion of ?s?—a 16th century spelling modification—is due to a change in spelling to the unrelated term isle, which previously lacked s (cf. Middle English ile, yle). The re-addition was mistakingly carried over to include iland as well. Related also to German Aue (“water-meadow”), Latin aqua (“water”). More at ea.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /?a??l?nd/

Noun

island (plural islands)

1. A contiguous area of land, smaller than a continent, totally surrounded by water.
2. An entity surrounded by other entities that are very different from itself.

   (a calm place surrounded by a noisy environment)

   • 1939, Deseret News, October 27 1939, Roosevelt Reaffirms American Neutrality

     King Leopold, speaking in fluent English during his six minute broadcast, said Belgium stood side by side with Holland "an Island of peace in the interests of all"

3. A superstructure on an aircraft carrier's deck.
4. A traffic island.

5. (government) An unincorporated area wholly surrounded by one or more incorporated areas.
6. (grammar) A phrase from which a wh-word cannot be extracted without yielding invalid grammar.

Synonyms

• (land surrounded by water): ait, holm
• (an entity surrounded by other very different entities): oasis

Derived terms

Related terms

• insular
• isle
• islet
• archipelago

Translations

Verb

island (third-person singular simple present islands, present participle islanding, simple past and past participle islanded)

1. (transitive) To surround with water; make into an island.
   • 1933, Harriet Monroe, Poetry: Volume 42

     We paused at little river cities along the way and walked upon their bushy dikes, and heard tales of overflows in flood seasons, when four feet or more of water islanded the houses.
2. (transitive) To set, dot (as if) with islands.
3. (transitive) To isolate.
   • 1896, A. E. Housman, A Shropshire Lad, XXVII, lines 1-2

     High the vanes of Shrewsbury gleam

     Islanded in Severn stream.

Synonyms

• isle

Translations

See also

• archipelago
• atoll
• cay, key
• continent
• peninsula

Anagrams

• Ladins, Landis, ilands

Scots

Alternative forms

• iland
• yland

Etymology

From Old English ??land.

Pronunciation

Noun

island (plural islands)

1. An island.

Esperanto

Noun

avalon

1. accusative singular of avalo