virgin islands

Thân thiện

A family enjoys a sunny day on the beach in the Virgin Islands.

Definition

Proper noun: * The Virgin Islands: A group of islands in the northeastern Caribbean Sea, east of Puerto Rico. The archipelago is politically divided between two territories: the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) and the British Virgin Islands (BVI).

Usage

• The term Virgin Islands is used to refer to the entire geographical archipelago.
• It is commonly preceded by the definite article "the".
• To specify the political jurisdiction, the terms United States Virgin Islands or British Virgin Islands are used.

Examples

• We went sailing around the Virgin Islands.
• Tourism is the primary industry for the Virgin Islands.
• St. Thomas is part of the United States Virgin Islands.
• Tortola is the largest island in the British Virgin Islands.

Advanced Usage

• "Virgin Islands Creole": Refers to the English-based creole language spoken in the territory.
  • Virgin Islands Creole has influences from West African languages.
• Historically, the islands were also known as the Danish West Indies before the United States purchased them in 1917.

Variants and Related Words

• USVI: A common abbreviation for the United States Virgin Islands.
• BVI: A common abbreviation for the British Virgin Islands.
• Danish West Indies: The historical name for the islands now constituting the USVI.

Synonyms

• Leeward Islands (The Virgin Islands are part of this larger island chain).

Học thuật

Noun

1. a group of islands in northeastern West Indies (east of Puerto Rico) discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1493; owned by United States and Britain

Từ đồng nghĩa

• virgin islands