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Glite Dictionary
Greenland

Greenland

49 1.1
A large island between the North Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean that has its own government but belongs to Denmark
  • proper noun
  • /ˈɡriːn.lænd/
translation icon : Groenlandia
  • We also face rising sea levels caused by the melting of Greenland's ice sheet.
  • Greenland Ice Sheet
  • Greenland, the largest island
  • Greenland ice

And Denmark, which owns Greenland, said, well, Greenland's not for sale.

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Examples

  • This was taken in April last year above Greenland, an aerial photograph.

  • The Germans lacked the weather data from Greenland and the North Atlantic.

    Academic text (1994)

  • This was the relationship between Greenland and Canada.

    The Last Ice (2020)

  • In April of this year, the temperature over Greenland was much higher than normal.

    An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power (2017)

  • Secretary: We're getting reports as far away as Greenland and parts of Mexico!

    Fiction book (1998)

  • The people of Greenland disagree with him about this.

    I've Had It

  • The Amazon's burning, the Arctic is melting, Greenland is melting.

  • With a human population of fewer than 57,000, Greenland is the least densely populated country on Earth.

    Academic text (2012)

  • In summer, the landscape of Greenland is covered in beautiful wildflowers.

  • Scientists are studying the effects of climate change on Greenland's vast ice sheets.

Synonyms

Kalaallit Nunaat
vsGreenland
9.9

The Greenlandic name for Greenland, a large island that governs itself within the Kingdom of Denmark

is the English name used in international contexts
Gronland
vsGreenland
5.6

A very large island in the North Atlantic near the Arctic that has its own government as part of Denmark

uses the term autonomous territory rather than province

Compounds

Greenland Sea
3.7

A sea north of Iceland between Greenland and Svalbard

Greenland caribou
  • US
5.8

A large Arctic deer in Greenland whose males and females both have big antlers

Greenland spar
  • Specialized
9.9

A white or clear mineral used to get fluorine

Greenland whale
6.9

A very large sea animal with a big rounded head that lives in Arctic waters

Surface Forms

Greenland main

Morphology

Greenland = green + land (semi-transparent) = green + land

Formed from the transparent elements 'green' + 'land', but as a place name it is a toponym whose descriptive content is misleading/arbitrary for learners.

Etymology

Greenland comes from the old Norse name Grœnland, which means 'green land' and was used by the Viking Erik the Red to make the island sound attractive to settlers. That's why the name uses green even though much of Greenland is covered in ice today.