an island republic in the N Atlantic, regarded as part of Europe: settled by Norsemen, who established a legislative assembly in 930; under Danish rule (1380–1918); gained independence in 1918 and became a republic in 1944; contains large areas of glaciers, snowfields, and lava beds with many volcanoes and hot springs (the chief source of domestic heat); inhabited chiefly along the SW coast. The economy is based largely on fishing and tourism. Official language: Icelandic. Official religion: Evangelical Lutheran. Currency: króna. Capital: Reykjavik. Pop: 335 025 (2017 est). Area: 102 828 sq km (39 702 sq miles)
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
Ice•land
(īs′lənd),USA pronunciation n. Ice•land•er
(īs′lan′dər, -lən dər),USA pronunciation n.
- Place Namesa large island in the N Atlantic between Greenland and Scandinavia. 39,698 sq. mi. (102,820 sq. km).
- Place Namesa republic including this island and several smaller islands: formerly Danish; independent since 1944. 272,550. Cap.: Reykjavik.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'Iceland' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Akureyri
- Althing
- Askja
- Breidha Fjord
- COCOM
- Christian X
- Denmark Strait
- EFTA
- Europe
- Faeroe Islands
- Faeroes
- Faxa Bay
- Greenland Sea
- Haakon IV
- Hekla
- Húna Bay
- Ice.
- Icel.
- Iceland agate
- Iceland moss
- Iceland poppy
- Iceland spar
- Icelander
- Icelandic
- Irminger Current
- Isenland
- KR
- Keflavík
- Laxness
- Mid-Atlantic Ridge
- Nicol prism
- North Germanic
- Norwegian Sea
- Old Icelandic
- Old Norse
- Pytheas
- Reykjavik
- Scandinavia
- Surtsey
- Thjórsá
- Thule
- Vestmannaeyjar
- combining form
- crown
- eyrir
- geyser
- harlequin duck
- ice
- krona
- króna