different between mainland vs inlet

English

Etymology

From Middle English mayne londe; equivalent to main +? land. Compare Scots mayn-land, magan-land, madin-land (“mainland”), Faroese meginland (“mainland”), Icelandic meginland (“mainland”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?me??nl?nd/

Noun

mainland (plural mainlands)

1. The continent; the principal land, as distinguished from islands or a peninsula.
   • 1719, Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe:

     ...I got to the mainland, where, to my great comfort, I clambered up the cliffs of the shore and sat me down upon the grass, free from danger and quite out of the reach of the water.

   • 2005, comment (not durably archived):

     You may have not realised when I was using the term mainland Europe, I was excluding the British Isles.

2. The principal island of a group.

Hypernyms

• land

Derived terms

• mainlander

Translations

References

• mainland on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• almandin

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English inleten, equivalent to in- +? let. Cognate with Dutch inlaten (“to let in, admit”), Low German inlaten (“to let in”), German einlassen (“to admit, let in”), Swedish inlåta (“to enter, engage”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?l?t/

Verb

inlet (third-person singular simple present inlets, present participle inletting, simple past and past participle inlet)

1. (transitive) To let in; admit.
2. (transitive) To insert; inlay.

Etymology 2

From Middle English inl?te (“inlet, entrance”), from inleten (“to let in”), equivalent to in- +? let. Compare Low German inlat (“inlet”), German Einlass (“inlet, entrance”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??nl?t/

Noun

inlet (plural inlets)

1. A body of water let into a coast, such as a bay, cove, fjord or estuary.
2. A passage that leads into a cavity.
   • 1748. HUME, David. An enquiry concerning human understanding. In: L. A. SELBY-BIGGE, M. A. Enquiries concerning the human understanding and concerning the principles of moral. 2. ed. London: Oxford University Press, 1973. § 15.

     by opening this new inlet for sensations, you also open an inlet for the ideas;

Translations

Anagrams

• ELINT, Intel, enlit, intel, leint, let in