archipelago

Meaning

Noun

• The Aegean Sea.
• A group of islands.
• Something scattered around like an archipelago.

Origin

• From Italian arcipelago, formed on the basis of Ancient Greek ἀρχι- + πέλαγος, 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.