archipelago

ARCHIPEL'AGO, n. [Authors are not agreed as to the origin of this word. Some suppose it to be compounded of Gr. chief, and sea; others of the Egean sea.]

In a general sense, a sea interspersed with many isles; but particularly the sea which separates Europe from Asia, otherwise called the Egean Sea. It contains the Grecian isles, called Cyclades and Sporades.