ARCHIPELAGO - /är″kə-pĕl′ə-gō″, är″chə-/    (n.)

- large group of islands, or sea containing a large number of scattered islands. From

Italian arcipelago = the Aegean* Sea🔍; literally the principle sea/ gulf [arci = chief,

principal (Latin archi / Greek arkh, arkhi = first, chief, primeval - e.g. archangel) + pelago;

(Latin pelagus & Greek pelagos) = pool; gulf, abyss, sea {high sea, open sea, main.}]

Elements of the word are Greek, but arkhipelagos is borrowed from Italian, with no record in ancient or

Med. Greek. The Italian / Latin compound is instead from Latin Egeopelagus; Greek Aigaion pelagos

= Aegean Sea. The Aegean being full of island chains, the Italian word later extended to any sea

studded with islands and/or to the islands themselves; and the Aigai/ Egeo = Aegean being conflated/

replaced with similar sounding archi = prime adjective, which was also applicable to the Aegean.

* AEGEAN - after Aegeus, King of Athens (Greek Mythology father to Theseus,) who threw himself to his

death in his eponymous🔍 sea when told his son had dies; possibly related to Greek aiges = waves

{unknown origin.}