Origin of the word
Peninsula came into English usage around the 16th century. Its origin is the Latin word ‘paene’ which means ‘almost’ and ‘insula’ meaning ‘island’.
Examples
The biggest peninsula on Earth is the Arabian. On its three sides are the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian and Red Seas. The peninsula contains five nation states: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen and Qatar.
The Korean Peninsula forms part of East Asia. From continental Asia, the landmass ranges southward for some 680 miles into the Pacific Ocean. To the east is the Sea of Japan and to the east the Yellow Sea. At the defeat of Japan in World War II, the peninsula was administered by the US (South Korea) and the Soviet Union (North Korea). The Cold War led to the partitioning of the peninsula after talks between the two controlling powers broke down and the North and South became separated by a demilitarized zone (DMZ). That remains the situation to the present day. Tensions are still high between the communist regime in the North and the democratic republic of South Korea.
Definition
A stretch of land almost surrounded by water that is linked to a larger area of land at one end.
View the full definition in the Macmillan Dictionary.
