island

No man is an Iland, intire of it ſelfe; euery man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine; […]

1624, John Donne, “17. Meditation”, in Deuotions upon Emergent Occasions, and Seuerall Steps in My Sicknes: […], London: […] A[ugustine] M[atthews] for Thomas Iones, →OCLC, pages 415–416:

Sumatra is the second largest island in the East Indies and the fourth largest in the world covering 182,859 square miles.

2002, Gordon L. Rottman, World War 2 Pacific island guide:

A contiguous area of land, smaller than a continent, totally surrounded by water.

Despite its name, Barry Island is actually a peninsula

(by extension, in place names) A contiguous area of land, smaller than a continent, partially surrounded by water; A peninsula; A half-island.

The quiet library was an island of tranquility in the noisy, bustling city.

an island of colors on a butterfly's wing

He was on the ball in a flash, swerving to the left of City’s goalkeeper, Ederson, before shaping his body for a tricky angled finish. He was an island of composure, floating in his 39th goal of the season with a delicate chip into the corner.

2018 April 10, Daniel Taylor, “Liverpool go through after Mohamed Salah stops Manchester City fightback”, in The Guardian (London):

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"

1939 October 27, Deseret News, Roosevelt Reaffirms American Neutrality:

An entity surrounded by other entities that are very different from itself.

A superstructure on an aircraft carrier's deck.

the island in the middle of a roundabout

Dunton island, near Birmingham, is one of the most confusingly labelled islands in the U.K.

In Coventry, you will often hear people say: “Turn right at the island”.

(by extension, West Midlands) A roundabout; a traffic circle.

A short, rather studious young woman on noticing him moved from behind an island counter.

1936, F.J. Thwaites, chapter XXII, in The Redemption, Sydney: H. John Edwards, published 1940, page 216:

A bench, counter, etc., that is not connected to a wall or other furniture and which can be used from any side.

(government) An unincorporated area wholly surrounded by one or more incorporated areas.

Adverbial subordinate clauses are islands for extraction: "They have a billion dollars of inventory that they don't know where *(it) is".

(grammar) A phrase from which a wh-word cannot be extracted without yielding invalid grammar.

islands (plural)
iland (alternative obsolete)
ylond (alternative obsolete)
ylelond (alternative obsolete)
yland (alternative obsolete)

oasis

an entity surrounded by other very different entities

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands

адгьылбжьаха

area of land completely surrounded by water

ishull

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-island.wav

From earlier iland, from Middle English iland, yland, ylond, from Old English īeġland, from Proto-West Germanic *auwjuland, from Proto-Germanic *awjōlandą (from Proto-Germanic *awjō (“island, waterland, meadow”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ekʷeh₂) + *landą (“land”), equivalent to ey + land.
Doublet of Öland. Cognate with Scots island, iland, yland (“island”), West Frisian eilân (“island”), Saterland Frisian Ailound (“island”), Dutch eiland (“island”), Low German Eiland (“island”), German Eiland (“island”), Swedish ö (“island”), Öland (“Sweden's second largest island”), Danish ø (“island”), Norwegian øy (“island”), øyland (“large island”), Icelandic eyland (“island”).
The insertion of ⟨s⟩—a 16th century spelling modification—is due to a change in spelling to the unrelated term isle, which previously lacked s (cf. Middle English ile, yle). The re-addition was mistakenly carried over to include iland as well. Related also to German Aue (“water-meadow”), Latin aqua (“water”). More at ea.


island

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.

1933, Harriet Monroe, Poetry, volume 42:

The car soon seemed islanded in water.

1956, Anthony Burgess, Time for a Tiger (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 138:

(transitive) To surround with water; make into an island.

God dwells in light! Before the ocean of unmeasured space, was islanded with stars serenely bright, reflecting back the radiance of his face - he dwelt above in heaven’s immortal bliss, thinking into existence that which is.

1842, T. H. Chivers, “The Song of Seralim: A Celestial Melologue”, in Magnolia; Or Southern Appalachian, volume II, number 1, page 52:

This Apulia is a land of vast pastures and cornfields and olive gardens, islanded with many rich cities, notable if only for the splendour of their churches,[…]

1915, Edward Hutton, Naples and Southern Italy, page 22:

She knew that the town was islanded with many waters - the Hudson, the Harlem and the East rivers, and the Bay - but the rivers were hard to find in the universal velvetiness.

1930, Rupert Hughes, Ladies’ Man, page 143:

(transitive) To set, dot (as if) with islands.

The turkey's nest was islanded with a fragrant swath,—the "heft" of the crop noted and rejoiced over,—the tons of good timothy and clover calculated,— […]

1865, [Adeline Dutton Train Whitney], “The Secret at the Hartshornes”, in The Gayworthys: A Story of Threads and Thrums. […], Boston, Mass.: [A. K.] Loring, […], →OCLC, page 49:

High the vanes of Shrewsbury gleam / Islanded in Severn stream.

1896, A[lfred] E[dward] Housman, “[Poem] XXVII”, in A Shropshire Lad, New York, N.Y.: John Lane Company, The Bodley Head, published 1906, →OCLC:

en-verb

island (third-person singular simple present islands, present participle islanding, simple past and past participle islanded)

islands (present singular third-person)
islanding (participle present)
islanded (participle past)
islanded (past)
iland (alternative obsolete)
ylond (alternative obsolete)
ylelond (alternative obsolete)
yland (alternative obsolete)