archipelago

 
Pronunciation: /ˌɑːkɪˈpɛləgəʊ/

noun (plural archipelagos or archipelagoes)

  • an extensive group of islands: the Indonesian archipelago
  • a sea or stretch of water having many islands.

Origin:

early 16th century: from Italian arcipelago, from Greek arkhi- 'chief' + pelagos 'sea'. The word was originally used as a proper name (the Archipelago 'the Aegean Sea'): the general sense arose because the Aegean Sea is notable for its large numbers of islands

Spelling help

The plural of archipelago can be spelled either archipelagos or archipelagoes.