n.
Pronunciation: ' ā -zh ə , -sh ə
Function: geographical name
continent of the eastern hemisphere N of equator forming a single landmass with Europe (the conventional dividing line bet. Asia & Europe being the Ural Mountains & main range of the Caucasus Mountains); has numerous large offshore islands including Cyprus, Sri Lanka, Malay Archipelago, Taiwan, the Japanese chain, & Sakhalin area 17,139,445 sq mi (44,391,162 sq km )