Vanua Levu

1 8.6

A large island in Fiji with volcanoes, rainforests and beaches

proper noun

: Vanua Levu

Many tourists visit Vanua Levu for its untouched rainforests and beautiful beaches.

Examples

Researchers studied the unique animal species found only on Vanua Levu.
Cyclones occasionally affect Vanua Levu, causing significant damage to the island's infrastructure.
Vanua Levu is beautiful.
I love Vanua Levu!
Many tourists visit Vanua Levu for its untouched rainforests and beautiful beaches.
Researchers studied the unique animal species found only on Vanua Levu.
Cyclones occasionally affect Vanua Levu, causing significant damage to the island's infrastructure.

Surface Forms

Vanua Levu main

Morphology

Vanua + Levu

The components are non‑English (Fijian) but etymologically mean roughly 'land' (vanua) + 'big/large' (levu), so a learner who knows those constituents could infer it denotes a large land or island. However, the precise encyclopedic sense 'the second‑largest island of Fiji' is not derivable from the words alone, so the meaning is only partially predictable.

Etymology

Vanua Levu comes from the Fijian words vanua meaning 'land' or 'village' and levu meaning 'big'. So the name literally means 'big land' or 'big island', which fits because it is one of Fiji's largest islands.