Etymology of the English word archipelago
the English word
archipelagoderived from the Italian word
arcipelagousing the Late Greek prefix
archi-, ἀρχι-
derived from the Greek word
archein, ἄρχω
derived from the Greek word
pelagos, πέλαγος (deep or open sea; the main)
derived from the Proto-Indo-European root
*plak-derived from the Proto-Indo-European root
*plāk-Date
The earliest known usage of archipelago in English dates from the 16th century.
Cognates
Dutch
archipel, French
archipel, German
Archipel, Norwegian
arkipel, Swedish
arkipelagUsage
Word found in Modern English
