# Islands of the North Atlantic

> English word · Proper noun

## Definitions
1. Great Britain, Ireland and surrounding smaller islands; the British and Irish Isles.
2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see islands, North Atlantic.

## Etymology
Suggested in 1980 by MP John Biggs-Davison as the name for what ultimately became the British-Irish Council, subsequently adopted as a replacement for the contested term British Isles. A contrived acronym suggesting Iona, an island with cultural ties to both Britain and Ireland.

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