English Explanatory Dictionary

mainland

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The continent; the principal land, as distinguished from islands or a peninsula.
  2. The principal island of a group.
  3. Great Britain.
name
  1. The largest island in the Orkney Islands council area, to the north of Scotland.
  2. The largest island in the Shetland Islands council area, to the north of both Orkney and Scotland.
  3. A historical region of British Columbia, British North America, British Empire.

Pronunciation

/ˈmeɪnlənd/ /-lænd/ /ˈmeɪnlænd/ /mæɪnlænd/ en-us-mainland.ogg

Word forms

mainland mainlands

Etymology

From Middle English mayne londe; equivalent to main + land. Compare Scots mayn-land, magan-land, madin-land (“mainland”), Faroese meginland (“mainland”), Icelandic meginland (“mainland”).

Derived words

mainland China mainland Chinese mainland clouded leopard mainlander mainland Europe mainlandization mainland Japan Lower Mainland
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