traffic island
1
2.5
- noun
- /ˈtræfɪk ˈaɪlənd/
:
isla de tráfico
- The subway exit lands us on a traffic island, deserted and dim beyond a semi-circle of harsh streetlamp light.
- a little traffic island
Examples
-
Where 8th comes down from the north and meets Pennsylvania Avenue, you are standing on a traffic island, formerly a federal reservation.
Blog text (15) -
We watched the bus make its circle around the Buckhead traffic island to head back downtown.
Fiction book (1991) -
On a traffic island at its center stands the colossal statue.
Fiction book (1992) -
Photographers from the paper and a local TV news crew wait by a veiled statue roped off in a little traffic island.
Fiction book (1996) -
Well-kept lawns and flower beds mark out large traffic islands, and in the park, the large duck pond is surrounded by the tall, elegant poplars so reminiscent of European landscapes.
Academic text (2005) -
At the busy intersection, we stopped on the traffic island to let the pedestrians cross safely.
-
The city installed new signs on the traffic island to help direct drivers and keep pedestrians safe.
-
Children often play on the traffic island while waiting for their parents to pick them up from school.
Synonyms
1
2.7
An area on a road where people can stand safely away from traffic
A raised area in the road where people wait safely to cross
A raised area in the middle of a road where people can wait safely before crossing
How Big
1
2.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'traffic' (vehicles/flow on a road) combined with 'island' (an isolated patch) yields an isolated or raised patch in the road used to separate traffic or protect pedestrians. This metaphorical use of 'island' for a protected or separated area is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words should be able to infer the meaning.
Etymology
Traffic island comes from the picture of a small raised area in the middle of a road that is surrounded by moving traffic, like a little island in the sea; people can stand there safely or drivers must go around it, so the name means 'a small safe area in the middle of the road'.