English Explanatory Dictionary

Islands of the North Atlantic

English dictionary entry

Meanings

name
  1. Great Britain, Ireland and surrounding smaller islands; the British and Irish Isles.
  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see islands, North Atlantic.

Word forms

Islands of the North Atlantic

Etymology

Suggested in 1980 by MP John Biggs-Davison as the name for what ultimately became the British-Irish Council, subsequently adopted as a replacement for the contested term British Isles. A contrived acronym suggesting Iona, an island with cultural ties to both Britain and Ireland.

Synonyms

Anglo-Celtic Isles British Isles British and Irish Isles these islands
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