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Glite Dictionary
Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island

1 3.4
A large island off the southwest coast of British Columbia that is the largest on North America's west coast
  • proper noun
  • /vænˈkuːvər ˈaɪlənd/
translation icon : Isla de Vancouver
  • One of the things I noticed in surfing the Mediterranean is how you don't get the overwhelming sense of wildlife that you do when you surf the west coast of Vancouver Island and its abundance of sea lions, whales, waterfowl, etc.

Examples

  • I live on Vancouver Island, Canada, and work as a writer, artist, and street outreach worker.

    Blog text (7)

  • The surf scene here on the west coast of Vancouver Island really just emerged in the '80s, and equipment was scarce and mainly available in the States.

    Blog text (7)

  • I live on Vancouver Island, Canada, where the nature is truly stunning.

  • The capital city of British Columbia, Victoria, is located on Vancouver Island.

  • Many tourists visit Vancouver Island to experience its beautiful landscapes and wildlife.

Surface Forms

Vancouver Island main

Morphology

Vancouver + island

This is a straightforward toponym made from a known place name plus the noun 'island'; a B1 learner who knows 'Vancouver' (a city/place) and 'island' (land surrounded by water) can infer it denotes an island associated with Vancouver, likely off the coast. Place-name compounds of this form are cross-linguistically common, so the meaning is directly derivable from the constituents.

Etymology

Vancouver Island comes from British Captain George Vancouver, who explored the coast in the late 1700s. The island was named after him, so the name today refers to that large island off Canada's west coast.