Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- An archipelago between southeast North America and northern South America, separating the Caribbean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean and including the Greater Antilles, the Lesser Antilles, and the Bahama Islands. The original inhabitants were Caribs and Arawaks. Several of the islands were sighted and explored by Columbus during his voyages of 1492–1504. The first permanent European settlement was made by the Spanish on Hispaniola in 1496. During the colonial period the English, French, and Dutch also laid claim to various islands, and the United States acquired Puerto Rico and part of the Virgin Islands in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- proper noun The
islands of theCaribbean sea . - proper noun cricket A
Federation of Caribbean states which, together withGuyana , playTest matches as if they were a singlenation .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the string of islands between North America and South America; a popular resort area
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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The name West Indies still remains as a testimony to this error.
Early European History Hutton Webster
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The origin of the Caribbean Service was Calling the West Indies, a programme that began in 1939, featuring West Indian troops on active service during World War II reading letters to their families.
BBC News - Home 2011
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Politically, the Caribbean (sometimes called the West Indies) comprises 12 independent nations and several French, British, U.S. and Dutch jurisdictions.
Montserrat 2009
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The West Indies are the Yorkshire of world cricket: when the West Indies is strong, world cricket is strong.
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Politically, the Caribbean (sometimes called the West Indies) comprises 12 independent nations and several French, British, U.S. and Dutch jurisdictions.
Anguilla 2009
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Politically, the Caribbean (sometimes called the West Indies) comprises 12 independent nations and several French, British, U.S. and Dutch jurisdictions.
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"Yes, sir," Nelson made answer, "but the West Indies is the station for honour."
The Life of Horatio Lord Nelson Southey, Robert, 1774-1843 1993
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At that time, it will be recalled, there was a very heavy concentration of slaves in the West Indies, and trade with the West Indies was the lucrative enterprise it was because there was available this large mass of people who worked without pay.
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At that time, it will be recalled, there was a very heavy concentration of slaves in the West Indies, and trade with the West Indies was the lucrative enterprise it was because there was available this large mass of people who worked without pay.
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Everybody knows that America was discovered by Christopher Columbus, who served under the King and Queen of Spain, and who made four trips, in which he discovered most of the islands now known as the West Indies and part of the central and southern regions of the American continent.
Simon Bolivar, the Liberator Guillermo A. Sherwell
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