Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Island \Is"land\, n. [OE. iland, yland, AS. [=i]gland, ?gland,
   ?glond; [=i]g, ?g, island + land, lond, land. AS. [=i]g, ?g,
   is akin to AS. e['a] water, river, OHG. ?uwa, G. au meadow,
   Icel. ey island, Dan. & Sw. ["o], Goth. ahwa a stream, water,
   L. aqua water. The s is due to confusion with isle. Cf.
   {Ait}, {Eyot}, {Ewer}, {Aquatic}.]
   1. A tract of land surrounded by water, and smaller than a
      continent. Cf. {Continent}.

   2. Anything regarded as resembling an island; as, an island
      of ice.

   3. (Zo["o]l.) See {Isle}, n., 2.

   {Islands of the blessed} (Myth.), islands supposed to lie in
      the Western Ocean, where the favorites of the gods are
      conveyed at death, and dwell in everlasting joy.