English Reference

Word

iceland

Phoneticsice·land

/ˈaɪsɫənd/

Definitions

01the country

A1

n. a country on an island in the North Atlantic, between Europe and North America.

n. A Nordic island nation in the North Atlantic, characterized by volcanic and geologically active terrain.

“Many people visit Iceland in the winter to see the Northern Lights.”

“Iceland has successfully leveraged its unique geothermal resources to provide sustainable heating and electricity for the majority of its population.”

Synonyms

Republic of Iceland

02icy land

C2

n. a general area or region that is covered in ice.

n. A literal geographic area or terrain dominated by ice and freezing conditions.

“The explorers traveled across the vast iceland for many weeks.”

“The poet described the desolate iceland as a place where time itself seemed to have frozen solid under the weight of the glaciers.”

Literary

Synonyms

tundrafrozen waste

Etymology

From Middle English Iseland, Island, Islond, Yslond, a calque of Old Norse Ísland, equivalent to ice + land. Replaced earlier Old Norse Snæland (literally “snowland”).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Word family

This entry

Level
A1 · Beginner
Frequency
Frequent
Updated

Scan code

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English Reference