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Marshall Islands

Marshall Islands

3 2.9
An island country in the central Pacific Ocean with many small low islands
  • proper noun
: Islas Marshall
  • The Constitution of the Marshall Islands entered into force on May 1, 1979, at which time the parliament chose Amata Kabua to be the country's first president.
  • atoll in the Marshall Islands

Examples

  • The Marshall Islands are known for their stunning beaches and unique atolls.

  • Many tourists visit the Marshall Islands to enjoy snorkeling and tourism activities.

  • In 1983, the Marshall Islands signed a Compact of Free Association with the United States, which entered into force in 1986.

    Blog text (5)
  • Marshall Islands - Germany purchased the Marshall Islands from Spain in 1899.

    Blog text (5)
  • Speaking on camera, the visibly emotional Marshallese leader said that the Marshall Islands have a proud history of thousands of years.

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  • Marshall Islands - Germany purchased the Marshall Islands from Spain in 1899.

    Blog text (5)
  • In other news, Pres. Obama will be visiting the Marshall Islands tomorrow for an extended goodwill tour; the First Lady will not be accompanying him.

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  • The newly inducted president of the Republic of the Marshall Islands has announced that the tiny Pacific nation has legalized the use of cocaine by executive order.

    Blog text (23)
  • Not until 1950—while attempting to destroy Eniwetok, an atoll in the Marshall Islands, near the equator in the Pacific Ocean—did science find definitive answers.

    Academic text (2009)
  • The Republic of the Marshall Islands is made up of over 1,100 islands in the Pacific Ocean.

Synonyms

1 4.5

An independent island country in the Pacific Ocean with close ties to the United States

focuses on central Pacific geography and many atolls rather than political arrangement

Surface Forms

Morphology

Marshall + island

This is a place name formed from a proper name + 'islands'; knowing 'island' lets a B1 learner infer it denotes a group of islands or an island country named Marshall. The Name + Islands pattern is cross-linguistically common and thus the meaning is directly derivable from the constituents.

Etymology

Marshall Islands comes from a sea captain, John Marshall, who sailed near these islands in the late 1700s. So today Marshall Islands means 'the group of Pacific islands that were named for Captain Marshall'.