Definition of: island

(ī′lənd) noun
1. A tract of land, usually of moderate extent, surrounded by water.
2. Anything isolated or like an island; anything set distinctly apart from its surroundings, as a piece of elevated woodland surrounded by prairie.
3. A patch of land differentiated from the surrounding area by a certain kind of vegetation: They walked to the oak island.
4. A cultivated or settled spot, especially a big farm in the woods or other unsettled area: often used as a place name.
5. Anat. Any of various isolated structures of the body; an insula.
—v.t.
1. To make into an island or islands; insulate.
2. To isolate; set apart.
3. To intersperse with or as with islands. [OE īgland, lit., island land <īg, īeg isle + land; the s was added to the spelling in the 16th c. on a mistaken association from isle]