peninsular
peninsular Lexical Profile
peninsular Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Relating to, situated on, or having the form of a peninsula.
"The country's peninsular geography provides thousands of miles of coastline and natural harbors."
• noun
In colonial Spanish America, a Spanish-born resident originating from the Iberian Peninsula, as distinguished from a locally born person of Spanish descent (criollo).
"During the colonial era, the highest administrative offices were almost exclusively reserved for peninsulars sent from Madrid."
An inhabitant or native of a peninsula.
"Many peninsulars rely on maritime trade and fishing for their primary livelihood."
Word Nuance & Usage
Do not confuse the adjective 'peninsular' (relating to a peninsula) with the noun 'peninsula' (the landmass itself), as the two are near-homophones in non-rhotic dialects of English.
• Rhymes for peninsular
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in English from 'peninsula' plus the adjectival suffix '-ar', ultimately tracing back to Latin 'paeninsula', from 'paene' (almost) and 'insula' (island). The historical noun sense is borrowed directly from Spanish 'peninsular', referring to natives of the Iberian Peninsula.