Marshall Islands
1
2.9
- 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
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The Marshall Islands are known for their stunning beaches and unique atolls.
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Many tourists visit the Marshall Islands to enjoy snorkeling and tourism activities.
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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.
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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
An independent island country in the Pacific Ocean with close ties to the United States
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'.