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Glite Dictionary
Shetland Islands

Shetland Islands

4.6
A group of about 100 islands off the north coast of Scotland known for dramatic coastline and rich birdlife
  • proper noun
translation icon : islas Shetland
  • One base in the South Shetland Islands was constructed on a peninsula that had already been designated a specially protected area, and a second base was built after the boundaries of that area were redrawn to give retrospective legitimacy to the first base.
  • Shetland Islands Council

Examples

  • Tourists often visit the Shetland Islands to experience their unique culture and beautiful scenery.

  • Rather, through oil tax revenue and disturbance funds, the Shetland Islands Council has sponsored and created schools, public amenities, complex trust arrangements, festivals, community publications, and planning documents, all of which are geared to preserve and celebrate the traditional distinctiveness of Shetland culture.

    Academic text (1990)

  • For example, eight stations are clustered on King George Island in the South Shetland Islands because it is relatively easy to reach by sea in summer.

    Academic text (1990)

  • Keywords: Shetland Islands; invented traditions; commodification; community; oil development.

    Academic text (1990)

  • This ritual of strategic remembering and forgetting continued with the official welcome to the Hamefarers presented by the Convener of the Shetland Islands Council.

    Academic text (1990)

  • The Convener of the SIC placed this ritual of identity within the politics of oil in his written greetings to the Hamefarers on behalf of the Shetland Islands Council:

    Academic text (1990)

  • The Shetland Islands are famous for their stunning landscapes and rich wildlife.

  • In summer, the Shetland Islands attract many birdwatchers eager to see rare species.

Synonyms

Shetland
vsShetland Islands
6 4.4

A group of small islands north of mainland Scotland

uses the fuller plural form rather than the shorter single word name
Zetland
vsShetland Islands
  • Archaic
9.9

A former name for the Shetland Islands north of Scotland

is the modern common name used today for the same islands

Surface Forms

Shetland Islands main

Morphology

Shetland + island

This is compositionally transparent: 'Shetland' names the place and 'islands' indicates a group of islands, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer it refers to that archipelago. The structure (place-name + geographic term) is non-idiomatic and cross-linguistically common, making the meaning immediately recoverable from the parts.

Etymology

Shetland Islands may come from what old Norse 'Vikings' called the land, a name like 'Hjaltland' that slowly changed in sound to become 'Shetland'. So the name today still shows the islands' long history and refers to the group of islands off northern Scotland.