# Rhode Island

> English word · Proper noun · IPA /ˌɹoʊd ˈaɪ.lənd/

## Definitions
1. The smallest state of the United States. Official name: State of Rhode Island.
2. The official name of Aquidneck Island.

## Etymology
Originally spelled Rode-Island. From unstandardized Early Modern Dutch Roode Eylant (“Red Island”), after a description of Aquidneck Island given by navigator Adriaen Block: een rodlich Eylande (Modern Dutch een roodlijk eiland).
Modern spelling due to influence from Rhodes, as Giovanni da Verrazzano had once likened an isle somewhere about the Narragansett Bay to it, though the precise identity of the isle he was referring to remains unknown. The earliest spelling showing influence from this is Rhod-Island.

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