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ar·chi·pel·a·go

(är′kə-pĕlə-gō′, är′chə-)

n. pl. ar·chi·pel·a·goes or ar·chi·pel·a·gos

1. A large group of islands: the Philippine archipelago.

2. A sea, such as the Aegean, containing a large number of scattered islands.

[Italian Arcipelago, the Aegean Sea, alteration (influenced by arci-, chief, archi-) of Medieval Latin Ēgēopelagus : Latin Aegaeus, Ēgēus, Aegean (from Greek Aigaios) + Latin pelagus, sea (from Greek pelagos; see plāk-¹ in the Appendix of Indo-European roots).]

ar′chi·pe·lagic (-pə-lăjĭk) adj.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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