Definition

1. Proper noun:
   • A small island in the central Pacific Ocean: "Pleasant Island" is the historical English name for the island nation now officially known as Nauru. It is located in Micronesia, approximately 2,800 miles southwest of Hawaii and west of the Gilbert Islands.

Usage Notes

• "Pleasant Island" is primarily a historical and geographical reference. The modern and official name for this sovereign country is the Republic of Nauru. The term is used in historical contexts, old maps, and texts to refer to the island before it was renamed.

Examples

• Proper noun:
  • European whalers first referred to it as Pleasant Island in the late 18th century.
  • The history of Pleasant Island, now Nauru, is deeply connected to phosphate mining.

Advanced Usage

• Historical Context: The name "Pleasant Island" is an exonym (a name given by outsiders) used by British explorer John Fearn, who encountered the island in 1798. Its use today is almost exclusively historical or descriptive of that period.
  • The 19th-century accounts describe the resources of Pleasant Island.

Variants and Related Words

• Nauru (Proper noun): The current official name of the island country.
  • Nauru is the world's third-smallest country by area.
• Republic of Nauru (Proper noun): The full official name of the sovereign state.
  • The Republic of Nauru is a member of the United Nations.

Synonyms

• Nauru: The direct and modern synonym.
• Naoero (Proper noun): The native name for the island in the Nauruan language.

Related Phrases

• Island of Nauru: A descriptive phrase identifying the island.
  • The economic development of the island of Nauru has been unique.
• Formerly Pleasant Island: A phrase used to connect the historical name to the present.
  • Nauru, formerly Pleasant Island, gained independence in 1968.

Noun

1. a small island in the central Pacific Ocean 2,800 miles to the southwest of Hawaii; in Micronesia to the west of the Gilbert Islands