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Glite Dictionary
Nova Zembla

Nova Zembla

1 9.9
Two islands in the Arctic Ocean that belong to Russia and were used for nuclear tests
  • proper noun
: Nova Zembla
  • The remote location of Nova Zembla made it suitable for nuclear testing.

Examples

  • The remote island of Nova Zembla has a harsh climate.

  • Researchers studied the impact of cold climate on wildlife in Nova Zembla.

  • Few people have ever visited the icy shores of Nova Zembla.

  • Many scientists study the effects of climate change on Nova Zembla.

  • Few people have ever visited the icy shores of Nova Zembla.

  • Researchers studied the impact of cold climate on wildlife in Nova Zembla.

  • The remote location of Nova Zembla made it suitable for nuclear testing.

Synonyms

Novaya Zemlya
vsNova Zembla
1 9.6

A group of two large islands in the Arctic Ocean that Russia used for nuclear tests

has identical meaning but uses a different name form

Surface Forms

Nova Zembla main

Morphology

Nova + Zembla

This is a proper name composed of elements that, for speakers who recognise them, resemble common roots (nova = 'new'; zembla ~ Slavic zemlya = 'land'), so a learner who knows those constituents could infer it denotes a place meaning 'new land'. However, the specific referent (the pair of Arctic islands) and extra propositional content (e.g. the nuclear test site) are world-knowledge and not derivable from the parts, so the transparency is only partial.

Etymology

Nova Zembla comes from early European sailors: Nova means 'new' and Zembla comes from a local word for 'land', so the name literally meant 'new land'. So today Nova Zembla is the name for those remote Arctic islands.