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Mar·ti·nique

(mär′tĭ-nēk, -tn-ēk)

An island and overseas department of France in the Windward Islands of the West Indies. Inhabited first by Arawaks and later by Caribs, the island was visited by Columbus in 1502. It was colonized by French settlers after 1635. Fort-de-France is the capital.

Mar′ti·nican adj. & n.

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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