Kiribati

→ Japanese: キリバス (Kiribasu)

From Gilbertese Kiribati, from English Gilberts adapted to Gilbertese phonotactics, a shortening of Gilbert Islands. First entry in the Dictionnaire gilbertin-français of Ernest Sabatier (1954).

Republic of Kiribati
Republic of Kiribati#English

A country consisting mostly of the Gilbert Islands archipelago, located in Micronesia in Oceania. Official name: Republic of Kiribati. Capital and largest city: South Tarawa.


Marshall Islands

desc

→ Japanese: マーシャル諸島 (Māsharu shotō) (calque)

There, in that emptiness, the typhoon is organising. For the last twenty-four hours it’s been shifting west, by now past the Marshall Islands, that fragile tracery of sinking lands so piecemeal and storm-worn.

2023, Samantha Harvey, Orbital, Jonathan Cape, page 23:

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) then outlined the trip itinerary, stating that President Lai will visit the three Pacific allies in the following order: the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, and then Palau. He said that during his time in the Marshall Islands, the president will meet with President Heine and her cabinet and with Speaker of the Nitijela (parliament) Brenson Wase, adding that the president will also address the Nitijela, attend a ceremony marking the completion of the Majuro Hospital AI and Telemedicine Center, and attend a state banquet hosted by President Heine.

2024 November 22, “President Lai to lead delegation on visit to the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, and Palau”, in Office of the President, Republic of China (Taiwan) [中華民國總統府], archived from the original on 2024-11-22, News releases:

Republic of the Marshall Islands#English

A country consisting of two archipelagos in Micronesia, in Oceania. Official name: Republic of the Marshall Islands. Capital and largest city: Majuro.


Nauru

/nɑːˈuː.ɹuː/

Possibly from Nauruan anáoero (“I go to the beach”).

The announcement Wednesday said those seeking refuge would all now be processed on the island nation of Nauru, another country that has been doing that work for Australia.

2021 October 6, Isabella Kwai, “Australia to Shift All Offshore Processing of Migrants to Island Nation of Nauru”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2021-10-06, Australia:

Republic of Nauru
Republic of Nauru#English

A country and island in Oceania, in the Pacific Ocean. Official name: Republic of Nauru.


Palau

Borrowed from Palauan Belau (“Palau”), traditionally derived from aidebelau (“indirect replies”) in reference to the island's creation story, or from beluu (“village”), from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *banua (“inhabited land, territory”).

der

Another society in which wealth per se was highly valued was Palau, but wealth belonging to descent units and not to individuals.[…]
Palau society was divided into a large number of individually named, exogamous matriclans, and these were in turn subdivided into named matrilineages, each of which was a land-owning corporation and localized within a single community.

1989, Douglas L. Oliver, “Social Relations”, in Native Cultures of the Pacific Islands, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 146:

The president of Palau declared Tuesday that his Pacific island nation will ban commercial fishing and become a marine sanctuary.[…]
Remengesau said establishing “a 100 percent marine sanctuary” will enable Palau to preserve “a pristine environment” and promote snorkeling, scuba diving and ecotourism as an alternative way to grow its economy.

2014 February 5, Edith M. Lederer, “Palau to ban commercial fishing, promote tourism”, in AP News, archived from the original on 2023-07-19:

Few places on the planet are as isolated as Palau, or as sprawling. Its 21,000 residents are scattered across a handful of its 250 islands, which take up just 177 square miles combined. Relatively poor, and with no military of its own, Palau employs a marine police division with just 18 members and one patrol ship.

2016 February 17, Ian Urbina, “Palau vs. the Poachers”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2016-02-17:

Fully 99% of Palau's population over 12 has had both shots of vaccine for the new coronavirus, the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) said, citing government figures which also show that this amounts to 16,152 people.
That puts Palau, an archipelago of 500 islands in the western Pacific Ocean, in the "top spot", the IFRC said in a statement, ahead of countries like Portugal which was named one of the world's most vaccinated countries when 80% of its 10 million people were fully immunized last month.

2021 October 14, Byron Kaye, “Tiny Pacific nation beats the world with 99% COVID vaccination, says Red Cross”, in Raju Gopalakrishnan, editor, Reuters, archived from the original on 2021-10-14, Asia Pacific:

While in Palau, Lai delivered a speech at its legislature and plans to open a government building complex that Taiwan helped to build. On Friday, Taiwan and Palau are set to conduct a joint maritime rescue drill, with Taiwan’s coast guard sending one of its newest domestically-made vessels from its southern port of Kaohsiung, in a possible rehearsal for showdowns with Chinese coast guard vessels in disputed regional waters.

2024 December 5, Joyu Wang, Austin Ramzy, “Beijing Has Picked Off Taiwan’s Remaining Allies. Taiwan Is Fighting Back.”, in The Wall Street Journal, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-12-06:

Republic of Palau
Republic of Palau#English

A country consisting of around 340 islands in Micronesia, in Oceania. Official name: Republic of Palau. Capital: Ngerulmud.


Micronesia

Japanese: ミクロネシア (Mikuroneshia)

/ˌmaɪ.kɹəʊˈniː.ʒə/

/ˌmaɪ.kɹəʊˈniː.ʃə/

From Ancient Greek μικρόνησος (mikrónēsos, “small island”, from μικρός (mikrós, “small, minimum”) + νῆσος (nêsos, “island”)) + -ia.

af

Federated States of Micronesia
Micronesia

Federated States of Micronesia
Federated States of Micronesia#English

A country consisting of about 2000 islands in Oceania. Official name: Federated States of Micronesia. Capital: Palikir.

Eʼeʼaahjí Tónteel bikáaʼgi Kéyah Yázhí dah Ndaaʼeełgo Ałhidadiidzooígíí


Guamanian

An indigenous (Chamorro) inhabitant of Guam, or someone of Guamanian descent.

A resident of Guam (of any ethnic background).


Guamanian

Of, from, or pertaining to Guam, the Guamanian people or the Guamanian (Chamorro) language.


Kiribatian

A person from Kiribati or of Kiribatian descent.


Kiribatian

Of, from, or pertaining to Kiribati, the Kiribatian people or language.


Nauruan

[nɑːˈuː.ɹuːn̩]

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Nauruan.wav


Marshallese

From Marshall (“Marshall Islands”) + -ese.

Of or pertaining to the Marshall Islands, its people, or its language.

Marshalleilands

of or pertaining to the Marshall Islands, its people, or its language


Marshallese

The Austronesian language of the Marshall Islands.


Marshallese

en-noun

Marshallese (countable and uncountable, plural Marshallese)

(chiefly in the plural) An inhabitant of the Marshall Islands.


nine-one-one (alternative)
nine one one (alternative)

9/11 attacks
Federal Communications Commission
National Emergency Number Association
United States

Chosen by the United States in the 1960s in place of the older British 999 number as a better way to avoid accidental calls from push-button telephones. It is officially pronounced "nine-one-one," not "nine-eleven," since "nine-eleven" refers to the 2001 attacks in New York and Washington. 9/11 is universally distinguished from 911 to refer the September 11, 2001 attacks. Officially written as 9-1-1 in regulations and materials from the United States National Emergency Number Association and Federal Communications Commission, which is also advocated by some media style guides.

When you call 911 in the United States, a local dispatcher usually answers the phone with "911" or "911. What's your emergency?"

I don't know why they couldn't just keep it as it was! How hard is it to remember 911?
You mean 999...
I mean 999!
That's the American one!
Yeah!

2006 Feb. 3, Graham Linehan, The IT Crowd, Season 1, Episode 2

Well, look, I wear a mask, I try not to be a maskhole about it. If I see — if I see somebody who doesn't have a mask, I don't call 911.

2021 March 18, John Kennedy, quotee, “SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA) IS INTERVIEWED ON FOX NEWS”, in Political Transcript Wire, Lanham:

The telephone number for emergency services in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Liberia, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Anguilla, Palau, and Tonga.

000(Mongolia) 105(China, Iran) 110(New Zealand) 111(European Union) 112(Japan, South Korea) 119(UK, Ireland) 999


Midway Islands

A small group of islands in the central Pacific; a US territory.


Colonia

Compare with Spanish colonia. Doublet of Cologne, colony, and Köln.

An urban area of Yap, Federated States of Micronesia.


Yap

An island in the Caroline Islands of western Micronesia.

Yap

an island in the Caroline Islands of western Micronesia


United States minor outlying islands

United States minor outlying islands pl (plural only)

A collection of islands and archipelagos, consisting of various dependent territories of the United States, including: Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, the Midway Islands, Navassa Island, Palmyra Atoll, and Wake Island.

合衆国領有小離島

がっしゅうこくりょうゆうしょうりとう

Alabama · Alaska · Arizona · Arkansas · California · Colorado · Connecticut · Delaware · Florida · Georgia · Hawaii · Idaho · Illinois · Indiana · Iowa · Kansas · Kentucky · Louisiana · Maine · Maryland · Massachusetts · Michigan · Minnesota · Mississippi · Missouri · Montana · Nebraska · Nevada · New Hampshire · New Jersey · New Mexico · New York · North Carolina · North Dakota · Ohio · Oklahoma · Oregon · Pennsylvania · Rhode Island · South Carolina · South Dakota · Tennessee · Texas · Utah · Vermont · Virginia · Washington · West Virginia · Wisconsin · Wyoming

American Samoa · Guam · Northern Mariana Islands · Puerto Rico · United States minor outlying islands · United States Virgin Islands


Gilbertese

From Gilbert + -ese. See Gilbertese language § Name on Wikipedia.

An Austronesian language spoken in Kiribati.


Marshall

* As an English surname, from the noun marshal.
* As a French surname, variant of Mercier.
* As a German surname, variant of Marschall.

A number of places in the United States:

An unincorporated community in Marin County, California.


Established in the United Kingdom as the first emergency service number in the world, initially chosen because of its suitability at a time of rotary-dial telephones.

nine nine nine (alternative)
triple nine (alternative)

When you call 999 in the UK, the operator usually answers the phone with "Emergency. Which service?"

The telephone number for emergency services in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Burma, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Sudan, South Sudan, Sierra Leone, Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, Dominica, Kiribati, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, and the Seychelles.

三條九 /三条九 (saam¹ tiu⁴ gau², literally “triple nine”)


Koror

Ultimately from an earlier form of Palauan Oreor (“Koror”), which started with /q/ or /x/ in earlier Palauan (cf. the form Goreor recorded by the 1908-10 Hamburg South Sea Expedition).

The former capital and largest city of Palau


Selected by the European Union as the 3-digit number fastest to dial on cellular and rotary phones without the likelihood of accidental dialing caused by hanging up a landline telephone, sometimes interpreted by phone networks as a 1.

The telephone number for firefighting assistance in Equatorial Guinea and Nauru.


Yapese

The Austronesian language spoken in the Federated States of Micronesia, especially by the inhabitants of Yap.


Federated States of Micronesia

/ˈfɛdəˌɹeɪtɪd ˈsteɪts əv ˌmaɪkɹəˈniːʒə/

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Soundguys-Federated States of Micronesia.wav

The official name of Micronesia, a country consisting of about 600 islands in Oceania. Capital: Palikir.

Eʼeʼaahjí Tónteel bikáaʼgi Kéyah Yázhí dah Ndaaʼeełgo Ałhidadiidzooígíí


Northern Mariana Islands

As of Wednesday, 97.3% of the eligible population in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or 41,937 individuals, had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to figures provided by the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp.

2022 January 24, K-Andrea Evarose Limol, “97% of eligible population fully vaccinated in CNMI, says CHCC”, in Guam Daily Post, archived from the original on 2022-05-16:

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands#English

An archipelago, commonwealth and dependent territory (technically, an unincorporated territory) of the United States in the Pacific Ocean. Official name: Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

ໝູ່ເກາະມາຣີນາເໜືອ

mū kǫ mā rī nā nư̄a


rai stone

Any of a class of large, circular stone disks, carved out of limestone, in the island of Yap, Micronesia.


Baker Island

Named for Captain Michael Baker, who visited the island several times starting in 1832 and eventually claimed and sold it.

a US 2.1 km² uninhabited atoll just north of the equator in the central Pacific Ocean, geographically together with Howland Island part of the Rawaki Islands


Kingman Reef

Named according to captain W. E. Kingman who described it in 1853. The reef had been earlier discovered by the American Captain Edmund Fanning in 1798.

KINGMAN'S REEF.—The following report in regard to this reef, has been received from the U. S. ship Resaca, Commander Green:
August 31st, 1872.—At 1 o'clock, P M, on a wind heading NE 1/2 E, Kingman reef to windward bore SE 1/2 E, distance seven miles, making centre of the reef in lat 6° 27′ 30" N, long 162° 13′ 30" W, which nearly corresponds with the position as given by Capt Kingman. It is certainly a dangerous reef, the discolored water being observed to extend eight or nine miles, the sea combing over the ridge of the reef for a space of about three miles in an ENE and WSW direction. Several patches of white sand and coral were observed from the top even with the water's edge.

1872 October 2 [1872 August 31], Nathaniel Green, quotee, “Marine Journal”, in The Friend, volume 31/21, number 10, Honolulu, page 81, column 3:

The Penguin left Sydney on April 10th, proceeding by way of Suva Fiji to Palmyra Island, where a party was landed to observe the tides. The steamer then proceeded to the north and made an accurate survey of Kingman reef, which was found to be 60 miles due north of Palmyra Island.

1897 August 7, “Editorial”, in Western Electrician, volume XXI, number 6, Chicago, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 76, columns 2–3:

Pan-American Airways Company has established a 500-watt short-wave station aboard the S. S. Trade Wind, anchored at Kingman reef, a tiny coral atoll 1,067 miles south of Hawaii, on the recently inaugurated air-route between Honolulu, and Auckland, New Zealand.

1938 January 15, Chas. A. Morrison, “Short Waves”, in Radio Guide, volume VII, number 13, Chicago, Ill.: Regal Press, Inc., →OCLC, page 44, column 2:

One of the US-administered Line Islands.


Like 911, 119, etc., selected as a number both fast and easy to call from rotary or touch-tone phones and less likely to be mistakenly dialed.

110 handles police emergencies in Japan, Taiwan, and Korea but fires and medical emergencies have a separate number, 119.

The telephone number for law enforcement in China, Japan, Germany, Indonesia, Latvia, Bolivia, Guatamala, Andorra, Nauru, and the Ivory Coast and on Taiwan.


Howland Island

Named for brothers George and Matthew Howland, who were early investors in guano mining on the island.

An uninhabited coral island located just north of the equator in the central Pacific Ocean, about 1,700 nautical miles (3,100 km) southwest of Honolulu. It is an unincorporated, unorganized territory of the United States.


stone money

Large circular limestone disks used as a form of currency by the Yapese people.


Jarvis Island

Named for brothers Edward, Thomas, and William Jarvis, who owed the ship, Eliza Francis, that discovered the island.

A small coral island located in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated, unorganized territory of the United States.


Johnston Atoll

Named for Charles J. Johnston. He was one of the first people to sight and describe the island.

Johnston Atoll is a small atoll in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated, unorganized territory of the United States.


Wake Island

Translingual: Hypotaenidia wakensis

Originally Wake's Island; named after Captain William Wake of the Prince William Henry (a British trading schooner) between the 1790s and 1803. Alternatively said to be named for a Captain Samuel Wake.

Intelligence has been received at Hong Kong of the total loss of the ship Libelle while on a voyage to that port from San Francisco, having on board a valuable cargo and specie to the extent of £76,000 in dollars, and a number of passengers, among whom were Madame Anna Bishop, Miss Phelan, Mr. M. Schrutz, and Mr. Charles Lascelles, of the English Opera Company, who, with other artists, were on a musical tour. The ship was cast away on the night of the 4th of March, on an uninhabited and dangerous reef called Wake Island, in the China Seas.

1866 August 18, “LAST NEWS OF ANNA BISHOP”, in The Musical World, volume 44, number 33, London, →OCLC, page 521:

There were only some four hundred United States marines who in the heroic and historic defense of Wake Island inflicted such great losses on the enemy. Some of those men were killed in action; and others are now prisoners of war.

1942 January 6, Franklin Roosevelt, 1942 President's Annual Message to Congress:

"I went out to Wake Island to see General MacArthur because I did not want to take him far away from Korea, where he is conducting very important operations with great success.[...]
"At the same time I believed my trip to Wake Island would give emphasis to the historic action taken by the United Nations on Korea.[...]
"At Wake Island we talked over the Far Eastern situation and its relationship to the problem of world peace.[...]
"Now I want Wake Island to be a symbol of our unity of purpose for world peace. I want to see world peace from Wake Island west all the way around back again. I want to see world peace from Wake Island all the way east and back again — and we are going to get it!

1956, Harry S. Truman, Memoirs of Harry S. Truman: Years of Trial And Hope, volume II, Doubleday & Company, →OCLC, pages 368–369:

It takes only a brief glimpse at a 1941 map of the Pacific to see why Wake Island was considered to be of such strategic value to the United States and why it was such an early target in Japan's program of conquest. As the war planners on both sides saw the situation in the late 1930s, possession of Wake was vital to the defense of their territory.

1978, Duane Schultz, “"To Deny Wake to the Enemy"”, in Wake Island: The Heroic, Gallant Fight, New York: St. Martin's Press, →OCLC, page 13:

An island of the United States, among the islands of Micronesia in the Pacific Ocean, administered by the Office of Insular Affairs of the United States Department of the Interior and used solely by the United States Air Force.

Columbia University Press
Encyclopædia Britannica
Saul B. Cohen
The New-York Magazine
The World Factbook
Wake Island


Palmyra Atoll

An island in the United States, among the islands of Polynesia in the Pacific Ocean


Navassa Island

"Kingston, Jamaica, 2d.-Yesterday morning, the Volcano, bomb-ship, Captain Price,[...]"On Sunday night, about 12 o'clock, off Navassa Island, the Volcano perceived a schooner standing towards her, which fired several shot, which were returned.

1861 [1815 November 2], George Coggeshall, “Chapter IX”, in History of the American Privateers, and Letters-of-marque, During our War with England in the Years 1812, '13, and '14, 3rd edition, New York, →OCLC, page 311:

An island in the United States, in the Caribbean Sea


A variant of the British 999, originally selected as an appropriate number for rotary-dial telephones and adapted in New Zealand because the formatting on its pulse-dial system made 1 equivalent to 9 as processed by its British-made telecommunications equipment.

When you call 111 in New Zealand, the Spark operator usually answers the phone with "111 Emergency. Do you require fire, ambulance, or police?"

The telephone number for emergency services in New Zealand and Nauru.


Bikinian

Of or from Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands.


Banaban

But Banaban elders say relying on support from faraway places is not sustainable, especially as the climate crisis worsens.

2021 June 8, Joshua Mcdonald, “The island with no water: how foreign mining destroyed Banaba”, in The Guardian:

Of or pertaining to the island of Banaba, Kiribati.


Banaban

Perhaps most damaging is the impact the mining had on te bangabanga. Banabans have historically been able to survive droughts due to the natural ability of the caves to capture and store water.

A native or inhabitant of Banaba, Kiribati.