| 释义 |
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024Mel•a•ne•sia (mel′ə nē′zhə, -shə),USA pronunciation n. - Place Namesone of the three principal divisions of Oceania, comprising the island groups in the S Pacific NE of Australia.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: Melanesia /ˌmɛləˈniːzɪə/ n - one of the three divisions of islands in the Pacific (the others being Micronesia and Polynesia); the SW division of Oceania: includes Fiji, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, the Bismarck Archipelago, and the Louisiade, Solomon, Santa Cruz, and Loyalty Islands, which all lie northeast of Australia
Etymology: 19th Century: from Greek melas black + nēsos island; with reference to the dark skins of the inhabitants; on the model of Polynesia |