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Isle of Wight

Isle of Wight

1 3.9
An island county off the south coast of England with beaches and small towns
  • proper noun
translation icon : Isla de Wight
  • The Isle of Wight is known for its stunning scenery and historical landmarks.
  • tour of the Isle of Wight

Examples

  • Many tourists visit the Isle of Wight each summer to enjoy its beautiful beaches.

  • He spent his vacation exploring the charming villages on the Isle of Wight.

  • Isle of Wight leads the way on using social workers in prison.

    Academic text (2011)
  • The Isle of Wight has, for some time, been at the forefront of introducing social care into the prison environment.

    Academic text (2011)
  • But Ian Anderson, Isle of Wight's director for community wellbeing and social care, said social workers would continue to work closely with mental health and other health services on the island.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Mental health practitioners have criticized Isle of Wight Council's proposals to move them from NHS-led community healthcare teams to work alongside local authority social workers.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Violet and Lancelot meet again in Bournemouth and sail off into the sunset, presumably to the Isle of Wight.

    Blog text (24)
  • Jeez man, didn't realize they were playing so many festivals this year too; just heard they're playing Isle of Wight and a bunch of European festivals in Germany.

    Blog text (8)

Synonyms

Wight
vsIsle of Wight
6 7.9

An island off the south coast of England in the English Channel

is the full two-word official name rather than the shorter single word
IOW
vsIsle of Wight
1 8.7

An island off the south coast of England with beaches and small towns

is the full two-word name not an abbreviation

Surface Forms

Morphology

isle + of + Wight

The phrase literally combines 'isle' (a small island) with the place name 'Wight', so a learner who knows those constituents would understand it refers to the island called Wight. The 'Isle of X' naming pattern is a common, cross-linguistic way to name islands, making the meaning directly derivable from the parts.

Etymology

Isle of Wight comes from the words Isle, meaning 'island', and Wight, an old name for the land that may come from the Roman word 'Vectis'. So, Isle of Wight simply means 'the island called Wight'.