Mainland vs Island - What's the difference?
mainland | island |
The main landmass of a country or continent
* 1719:
* 2005 :
A contiguous area of land, smaller than a continent, totally surrounded by water.
* 2002 , Gordon L. Rottman, World War 2 Pacific island guide
An entity surrounded by other entities that are very different from itself.
* 1939 , Deseret News, October 27 1939, Roosevelt Reaffirms American Neutrality
A superstructure on an aircraft carrier's deck.
(chiefly, UK) A traffic island.
To surround with water; make into an island
* 1933 , Harriet Monroe, Poetry: Volume 42
To set, dot (as if) with islands
To isolate
* , (A Shropshire Lad), XXVII, lines 1-2
As nouns the difference between mainland and island
is that mainland is the main landmass of a country or continent while island is a contiguous area of land, smaller than a continent, totally surrounded by water.As a verb island is
to surround with water; make into an island.As a proper noun Island is
long Island (in New York State.mainland
English
Noun
(wikipedia mainland) (en noun)- ...I got to the mainland , where, to my great comfort, I clambered up the cliffs of the shore and sat me down upon the grass, free from danger and quite out of the reach of the water.
comment
- You may have not realised when I was using the term mainland Europe, I was excluding the British Isles.
island
English
Alternative forms
* (l) (nonstandard) * (l), (l), (l) (obsolete)Noun
(en noun)- Sumatra is the second largest island in the East Indies and the fourth largest in the world covering 182,859 square miles.
- an island of tranquility (a calm place surrounded by a noisy environment)
- an island of colour on a butterfly's wing
- King Leopold, speaking in fluent English during his six minute broadcast, said Belgium stood side by side with Holland "an Island of peace in the interests of all"
- the island in the middle of a roundabout
Synonyms
* (land surrounded by water) (l), (l) * (an entity surrounded by other very different entities) oasisDerived terms
* coney island * desert island * floating island * heat island * high island * interisland * islander * island dispenser * island display * island-hop * island position * island state * island universe * islandwide * islandy * low island * no man is an island * safety island * security island * the Island * sea-island * tidal islandVerb
(en verb)- We paused at little river cities along the way and walked upon their bushy dikes, and heard tales of overflows in flood seasons, when four feet or more of water islanded the houses.
- ''High the vanes of (Shrewsbury) gleam
- Islanded in Severn stream''.