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Iberian Peninsula

Iberian Peninsula

1 4.4
A large area of land in southwest Europe surrounded by sea on three sides where Spain and Portugal are
  • proper noun
translation icon : Península Ibérica
  • The Iberian Peninsula is home to two countries: Spain and Portugal.
  • regions of the Iberian Peninsula

Examples

  • Even before that era, Muslim bands swept over the northern littoral of Africa and across the sea into the Iberian Peninsula.

    Academic text (2001)
  • In the Iberian Peninsula, a paradigmatic example is the endangered Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus).

    Academic text (2012)
  • By this time, Neanderthals had been crowded out of Europe, except for the Iberian Peninsula.

    Academic text (2010)
  • And, is the Iberian Peninsula so openly envious of the culture in its former colonies across the Atlantic?

    Academic text (1997)
  • Bears have been living in the Iberian Peninsula for at least the last 11.5 million years, Abella said.

    Blog text (16)
  • Twelve thousand years later, the last Neanderthals were clinging to settlements in the Iberian Peninsula.

    Academic text (2006)
  • One evident exception is the Iberian Peninsula, which was mostly within this Khalifate but was reconquered by Christians.

    Academic text (2000)
  • However, Ortega theorizes that the Visigoths arrived at the Iberian Peninsula in an already weakened condition.

    Academic text (2004)
  • The proliferation of Li's text attests to the spread in the Iberian Peninsula of scientific writings intended for a popular readership.

    Academic text (1998)
  • Transhumant movements between the Pyrenees and the Ebro Valley are among the most important on the Iberian Peninsula, due to the number of sheep relocated.

    Academic text (2011)

Synonyms

Iberia
vsIberian Peninsula
4 5.0

A large peninsula in southwest Europe that includes Spain and Portugal

is the longer descriptive phrase rather than the short name
Hispania
vsIberian Peninsula
  • Archaic
1 9.9

The ancient Roman name for the land now called Spain and Portugal

is the neutral modern geographic name rather than an ancient poetic term

Surface Forms

Morphology

Iberian + peninsula

The meaning is directly compositional: 'Iberian' specifies the region (Iberia) and 'peninsula' denotes a landmass mostly surrounded by water, so together they denote the peninsula belonging to Iberia. This place-name formation is non-idiomatic and cross-linguistically parallel, so a B1 learner who knows both constituent meanings will readily understand it.

Etymology

Iberian Peninsula may come from a river once called 'Iber' and the word peninsula, which means land mostly surrounded by water. So the name brings to mind the land by the 'Iber' that sticks out into the sea, and that is why it refers to the large area now called Spain and Portugal.