arcipelago

See also: Arcipelago and arcipélago

Italian

Etymology

From Byzantine Greek Ἀρχιπέλαγος (Arkhipélagos), formed on the basis of Ancient Greek ἀρχι- (arkhi-, “main”) + πέλαγος (pélagos, “sea”), a designation for the Aegean Sea. The Aegean Sea is a sea with many islands; the term Arcipelago, originally a proper noun referring to the Aegean Sea, was first generalized to a common noun for any sea with many islands, and then to the islands in such a sea.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ar.t͡ʃiˈpɛ.la.ɡo/
• Rhymes: -ɛlaɡo
• Hyphenation: ar‧ci‧pè‧la‧go

Noun

arcipelago m (plural arcipelaghi)

1. archipelago

Descendants

• → Arabic: أَرْخَبِيل (ʔarḵabīl)
• → Catalan: arxipèlag
• → English: archipelago
• → Greek: αρχιπέλαγος (archipélagos)
• → Maltese: arċipelagu
• → Portuguese: arquipélago
• → Russian: архипела́г (arxipelág)
• → Spanish: archipiélago

See also

• isola

Further reading

• “arcipelago”, in Vocabolario Treccani on line (in Italian), Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2026

Portuguese

Noun

arcipelago m (plural arcipelagos)

1. obsolete form of arquipélago