the second largest island in the Caribbean, in the Greater Antilles: divided politically into Haiti and the Dominican Republic; discovered in 1492 by Christopher Columbus, who named it La Isla Española. Area: 18 703 sq km (29 418 sq miles)
Former name: Santo Domingo
Hispaniola in American English
(ˌhɪspənˈjoʊlə)
island in the West Indies, between Cuba & Puerto Rico: divided between Haiti & the Dominican Republic: 29,418 sq mi (76,192 sq km)