archipelago

noun

ar·​chi·​pel·​a·​go ˌär-kə-ˈpe-lə-ˌgō 

ˌär-chə-

plural archipelagoes or archipelagos

1

: an expanse of water with many scattered islands

2

: a group of islands

3

: something resembling an archipelago

especially : a group or scattering of similar things

an archipelago of small parks within the city

Did you know?

The Greeks called it the Aegean Pelagos and the Italians referred to it as Arcipelago (meaning "chief sea"), but English speakers now call it the Aegean Sea. Numerous islands dot its expanse, and 16th-century English speakers adopted a modified form of its Italian name for any sea with a similar scattering of islands. In time, archipelago came to refer to the groups of islands themselves, and now it is often used figuratively, as in, for example, "an archipelago of high-rise buildings."

Examples of archipelago in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This stunning archipelago, stretching more than 1,200 miles between Alaska and Russia, offers sweeping volcanic landscapes, pristine waters, and opportunities to witness marine life (whales! —Bailey Berg, AFAR Media, 29 Jan. 2025

Best Waterfront Route Stockholm Archipelago Trail, Sweden Opening in October 2023, the 167-mile Stockholm Archipelago Trail connects new and existing pathways across 20 islands in the Stockholm Archipelago, the largest archipelago in Sweden and home to over 30,000 islands. —Megan Michelson, Outside Online, 27 Jan. 2025

Its purpose: to study the northern lights over Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. —Laura Kiniry, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Jan. 2025

This southern island in the country’s archipelago is a sleepy place, a welcome respite from the development, sometimes overdevelopment, going on elsewhere in the region including the country’s main island Providenciales. —Laurie Werner, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Archipelago Aegean Sea, from Italian Arcipelago, literally, chief sea, from arci- (from Latin archi-) + Greek pelagos sea — more at plagal

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

archipelago

noun

ar·​chi·​pel·​a·​go ˌär-kə-ˈpel-ə-ˌgō 

ˌär-chə-

plural archipelagoes or archipelagos

: a wide stretch of water with many scattered islands

also : a group of islands