archipelago

Where does the word "archipelago" come from? It comes from Greek arkhipelagos, passing through Italian before entering English (1500s).

Archipelago’s story begins in Greek: arkhipelagos meant “the chief sea.” Literally chief sea, from arkhi (chief) and pelagos (sea), originally naming the Aegean Sea. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Italian as arcipelago. Carried into Italian and broadened to mean any sea studded with islands. It reached English by 1500s as archipelago. Settled as the English word for a group of islands. Today, archipelago means a group or chain of islands.

1. Stage 1 · Greek · medieval arkhipelagos "the chief sea", literally chief sea, from arkhi (chief) and pelagos (sea), originally naming the Aegean Sea.
2. Stage 2 · Italian · medieval arcipelago "a sea studded with many islands", carried into Italian and broadened to mean any sea studded with islands.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1500s archipelago "a group of islands", settled as the English word for a group of islands.