# archipelago

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˌɑːkɪˈpɛləɡəʊ/ · frequency rank #18,759

## Definitions
1. A group of islands.
2. The Aegean Sea.
3. Something scattered around like an archipelago.

## Etymology
From Italian arcipelago, formed on the basis of Ancient Greek ἀρχι- (arkhi-, “main”) + πέλαγος (pélagos, “sea”), a designation for the Aegean Sea. (Compare arch- and high seas.) The Aegean Sea is a sea with many islands; the term Arcipelago, originally a proper noun referring to the Aegean Sea, was first generalized to a common noun for any sea with many islands, and then to the islands in such a sea. By surface analysis, archi- + -pelago.

## Common misspellings (16)
`acrhipelago`, `arcchipelago`, `archhipelago`, `archieplago`, `archipealgo`, `archipelaggo`, `archipelaog`, `archipelgao`, `archipellago`, `archipleago`, `archippelago`, `archpielago`, `arcihpelago`, `arhcipelago`, `arrchipelago`, `rachipelago`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/archipelago