Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Inner Hebrides

Inner Hebrides

7.2
A group of islands off the west coast of Scotland between the mainland and the Outer Hebrides
  • proper noun
translation icon : Hébridas Interiores
  • The rugged landscapes of the Inner Hebrides offer breathtaking views of the ocean.

Examples

  • Out to sea, the tall islands of the Inner Hebrides were just visible.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • The towering sea cliffs of Colonsay, an island in the Scottish Inner Hebrides, front the Atlantic and protect wide bays of silver sands.

    Academic text (1993)

  • Many tourists visit the Inner Hebrides to experience its unique wildlife and natural beauty.

  • The Inner Hebrides are known for their rich history and cultural heritage.

Surface Forms

Inner Hebrides main

Morphology

inner + Hebrides

The compound combines 'inner' (closer to the center or mainland) with 'Hebrides' (a group of Scottish islands), so its meaning — the Hebrides islands nearer the mainland — is directly derivable from the constituents. The inner/outer distinction in geographic names is cross-linguistically common and follows regular compositional naming, so a B1 learner who knows both words would understand it.

Etymology

Inner Hebrides comes from a simple idea: they are the inner group of the Hebrides, the islands 'closer to the mainland'. That's why the name now refers to the islands off western Scotland that lie nearer the shore than the 'Outer Hebrides'.