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Glite Dictionary
Northern Mariana Islands

Northern Mariana Islands

1 5.3
A self-governing group of islands in the western Pacific that belong to the United States
  • proper noun
translation icon : Islas Marianas del Norte
  • The Northern Mariana Islands celebrate their annual festival to showcase local traditions and cuisine.

Examples

  • What about Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands?

    Blog text (7)

  • I have also had a series of meetings with the Legislature of the Northern Mariana Islands on options for re-examining its future political status.

    Blog text (7)

  • Northern Mariana Islands

    Blog text (7)

  • The Northern Mariana Islands are known for their beautiful beaches and vibrant marine life.

  • Tourists flock to the Northern Mariana Islands to experience their unique culture and warm hospitality.

Synonyms

Northern Marianas
vsNorthern Mariana Islands
7.0

A group of islands in the western Pacific that govern themselves, excluding Guam

is the longer official name for the same self-governing Pacific territory

Surface Forms

Northern Mariana Islands main

Morphology

northern + Mariana + island

The phrase is compositionally built from 'northern' (location) + the proper name 'Mariana' + 'islands' (a group of islands), so a learner who knows those words will infer it refers to the islands in the northern part of the Mariana group. Specific political details (self-governing territory, exclusion of Guam) are encyclopedic, but the basic geographic meaning is directly derivable and follows common cross-linguistic place-name formation patterns.

Etymology

Northern Mariana Islands gets its name from the larger Mariana Islands, which Spanish explorers long ago named for Queen Mariana of Spain. The word 'Northern' shows these islands are north of Guam, so the name now means the group of islands that form a self-governing territory.