chersonese
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See also: Chersonese
English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
- (χ transcribed as <ch>)
- chersonesus (Latin form)
- chersonesos (with Greek ending)
- chersoness (obsolete)
- chersonesse (obsolete)
- (χ transcribed as <kh>)
- khersonese
- khersonesos (with Greek ending)
- khersonesus (with Latin ending)
- khersoness (rare, obsolete)
Etymology[edit]
From Latin Chersonēsus, from Ancient Greek χερσόνησος (khersónēsos, “originally, the Gallipoli peninsula; later, any peninsula”),[1] from χέρσος (khérsos, “dry land”) + νῆσος (nêsos, “island”).[2]
Pronunciation[edit]
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈkɜːsəˌniːs/[2]
Noun[edit]
chersonese (plural chersoneses)
Usage notes[edit]
Aside from dated, poetic, or rhetorical use,[2] the word typically appears in English transcribing works or descriptions of classical geography: the anglicized form chersonese being more common in general and generic use and the Latin form chersonesus appearing in the proper names of various famous peninsulas.
Derived terms[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 A Compendium of Ancient and Modern Geography: For the Use of Eton School by Aaron Arrowsmith (1831; E. Williams), page 32:
A peninsula (χερσόνησος pæninsula, i. e. pæne insula) or chersonese, is a tract of land which is almost an island, being encompassed by water on all sides, except where it is joined to the main by a narrow neck of land; as the Thracian Chersonese, the Morea, and Spain. The narrow neck of land, which joins a peninsula to the main, is called an Isthmus (ἰσθμός isthmus10) as the Isthmus of Corinth, the Isthmus of Suez, and the Isthmus of Darien. - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. “chersonese, n.”. Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1989.