mainland

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See also: Mainland

English

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Etymology

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From Middle English mayne londe; equivalent to main +‎ land. Compare Scots mayn-land, magan-land, madin-land (mainland), Faroese meginland (mainland), Icelandic meginland (mainland).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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mainland (plural mainlands)

  1. The continent; the principal land, as distinguished from islands or a peninsula.
  2. The principal island of a group.
  3. (Northern Ireland) Great Britain.
    • 2024 February 10, Emma DeSouza, “The most effective cure for Northern Irish unionism? Attitudes in England”, in The Guardian[1], →ISSN:
      All of the people I interviewed were from Protestant backgrounds, with proud British traditions. Yet when they set foot on the mainland, they were met at times with jeering, derision and othering from the very people with whom they were raised to believe they had the most in common.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Further reading

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Anagrams

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