/ ˈaɪlənd; NAmE / noun
1.
( abbr. I , I. , Is. ) a piece of land that is completely surrounded by water :
We spent a week on the Greek island of Kos.
a remote island off the coast of Scotland
( figurative )
—see also desert island
2.
( BrE ) = traffic island
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WORD ORIGIN
Old English īegland , from īeg island (from a base meaning watery, watered ) + land . The change in the spelling of the first syllable in the 16th cent. was due to association with the unrelated word isle .