n.1 a piece of land surrounded by water.
2 anything compared to an island, esp. in being surrounded in some way.
3 traffic island.
4 a a detached or isolated thing. b Physiol. a detached portion of tissue or group of cells (cf. ISLET).
5 Naut. a ship's superstructure, bridge, etc.
Etymology: OE igland f. ig island + LAND: first syll. infl. by ISLE