archipelago
noun /ˌɑːkɪˈpeləɡəʊ/
/ˌɑːrkɪˈpeləɡəʊ/
(plural archipelagos, archipelagoes)
- a group of islands and the sea surrounding them
- the Indonesian archipelago
Word Originearly 16th cent.: from Italian arcipelago, from Greek arkhi- ‘chief’ + pelagos ‘sea’. The word was originally used as a proper name (the Archipelago ‘the Aegean Sea’): the general sense arose because the Aegean Sea is known for its large numbers of islands.