Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Cape Sable Island

Cape Sable Island

7.1
An island at the southern tip of Nova Scotia, Canada, known for many seabirds and its sea history
  • proper noun
translation icon : Isla Cape Sable
  • Many migratory birds stop at Cape Sable Island on their journey north every spring.

Examples

  • Tourists often visit Cape Sable Island to enjoy its scenic coastal views and rich maritime history.

  • Storms off the coast of Cape Sable Island can be powerful during the winter months.

  • I visited Cape Sable Island last summer.

  • Did you know that Cape Sable Island is home to many rare birds?

  • Many migratory birds stop at Cape Sable Island on their journey north every spring.

  • Storms off the coast of Cape Sable Island can be powerful during the winter months.

  • Tourists often visit Cape Sable Island to enjoy its scenic coastal views and rich maritime history.

Synonyms

Cape Sable
vsCape Sable Island
6.8

A point of land at the southern tip of Nova Scotia

emphasizes historic importance and wild bird habitats as well as location

Surface Forms

Cape Sable Island main

Morphology

cape + Sable + island

The constituents 'cape' and 'island' clearly signal a geographic place (a promontory and an island), so a B1 learner who knows those words will recognize this as the name of a coastal island. However, 'Sable' functions as a proper name (and is not defined here), so the specific referent or nuance of that element is not derivable from general vocabulary knowledge. Because part of the meaning is transparently compositional while the central name element is opaque, the expression is only partially predictable.

Etymology

Cape Sable Island comes from old French words: Cape means a point of land and Sable means 'sand', so early visitors called it a 'sandy cape'. That's why the name describes the island's sandy point and is still used today.