archipelago
/ˌɑːkəˈpeləˌɡəʊ/ahr-kuh-PEH-luh-goh
/ˌɑɹkəˈpɛləˌɡoʊ/ahr-kuh-PEH-luh-goh
Meaningthe chief sea
Common meaning: a group of islands
- archa beginning; rule, commandLiddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), p. 121 · scan
- pelagthe open seaLiddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), p. 1170 · scan
‘a beginning’ + ‘the open sea’ → archipelago
Journey through time
- arch — Greek ἀρχή “a beginning; rule, command” (path traced)
- pelag — Greek πέλαγος “the open sea” (path traced)
Parts join in Italian.
- Greekἀρχή + πέλαγος‘a beginning + the open sea’
- Englisharchipelago‘a group of islands’ · today
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Built on Greek ἀρχή ‘a beginning; rule, command’ + Greek πέλαγος ‘the open sea’.
Did you know: our wording, based on Liddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), entry ἀρχή, p. 121 · dictionary scan
Roots
Related words
Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app