# Islands and continents **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [June 10, 2001, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/islands-and-continents/68266 "2001-06-10T05:58:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ahbiteme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f4b2a3/32.png) [@ahbiteme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ahbiteme)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2001, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/islands-and-continents/68266/1 "2001-06-10T05:58:30Z")
Just a quick question, according to the Webster’s definition of an island (ie, smaller than a continent), well, where does that leave Australia? I live here, and there’s a saying that goes “Australia is the world’s smallest continent, but world’s largest island”… which obviously isn’t right according to Mr Webster, but I was just wondering if it’s true or not. Cheers, Alex (Sydney, Australia) ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2001, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/islands-and-continents/68266/2 "2001-06-10T06:02:56Z")
Alex I’m in Australia too. Keep your head down. Don’t draw any attention. Does the word Gallipoli mean anything to you? I’ve said it before don’t ask ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2001, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/islands-and-continents/68266/3 "2001-06-10T17:15:12Z")
A link to the Staff Report is appreciated. I can’t be sure but I suspect the one referred to is [Why are Europe and Asia considered separate continents? What’s a continent, anyway?](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/meurasia.html) ---
**Author:** ![Beruang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/77aa72/32.png) [@Beruang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beruang)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2001, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/islands-and-continents/68266/4 "2001-06-11T04:48:14Z")
There was a thread on this back in February. (Sorry, but I don’t know how to link to threads.) The gist of the argument was – if it sits on a continental plate, then by golly, it’s a continent! Arbitrary, perhaps, but then, so is every other definition that we bandied about. – Beruang ---
**Author:** ![ahbiteme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f4b2a3/32.png) [@ahbiteme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ahbiteme)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2001, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/islands-and-continents/68266/5 "2001-06-11T07:49:40Z")
Yeah bibliophage, that’s the one! Sorry, I don’t usually do much in the way of message boards. I like the idea of the tectonic plate theory, but dunno if it holds. Having said that, I haven’t yanked out the Atlas yet. Thanks for the replies though guys and gals, I guess it seems that continents are continents just coz that’s how they’re classified! Cheers again, Alex ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2001, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/islands-and-continents/68266/6 "2001-06-11T13:49:12Z")
Well, I know how to use the Search function, and I can’t find it, either. Do you have any idea how many threads there are with the word “continent” in them? Lots. Anyway. > **[Dictionary by Merriam-Webster: America's most-trusted online dictionary](https://www.merriam-webster.com/)** > > The dictionary by Merriam-Webster is America's most trusted online dictionary for English word definitions, meanings, and pronunciation. #wordsmatter > [@](#): > > Main Entry: 2con·ti·nent > Pronunciation: 'kän-t&n-&nt, 'känt-n&nt > Function: noun > Etymology: in senses 1 & 2, from Latin continent-, continens, prp. of continEre, to hold together, contain; in senses 3 & 4, from Latin continent-, continens continuous mass of land, mainland So you have the sense of a big contiguous land mass. > [@](#): > > Main Entry: 1is·land > Pronunciation: 'I-l&nd > Function: noun > Etymology: alteration (influenced by Old French isle) of earlier iland, from Middle English, from Old English Igland (akin to Old Norse eyland), from ig island (akin to Old English Ea river, Latin aqua water) + land land > Date: before 12th century > 1 : a tract of land surrounded by water and smaller than a continent An “island” is a “small contiguous land mass”. [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?eu=26468&tocid=0](http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?eu=26468&tocid=0) > [@](#): > > Continent > > …one of the larger continuous masses of land, namely, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia, listed in order of size. (Europe and Asia are sometimes considered a single continent, Eurasia.) > > There is great variation in the sizes of continents; Asia is more than five times as large as Australia. The largest island in the world, Greenland, is only about one-fourth the size of Australia. So the difference between an island and a continent is a purely arbitrary “size” thing. Australia is frequently referred to as the Island Continent, but I think that’s more in reference to its separation from any other large land masses, than to any particular “island-ness”. I don’t think that the definition of “continent” has anything to do with “a continent is on a tectonic plate and an island isn’t”, because, for one thing, Vancouver Island is on the Juan De Fuca Plate. [http://www.litho.ucalgary.ca/atlas/sbc/vi\_subcx.html](http://www.litho.ucalgary.ca/atlas/sbc/vi_subcx.html) And in a certain sense, _all_ land on Earth is resting on a tectonic plate somewhere. Iceland is split in half. One part rests on the North American plate, the other part is on the Eurasian Plate. [http://pubs.usgs.gov/publications/text/understanding.html](http://pubs.usgs.gov/publications/text/understanding.html) ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2001, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/islands-and-continents/68266/7 "2001-06-11T14:05:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Duck Duck Goose \* > \*\*Do you have any idea how many threads there are with the word “continent” in them? Lots. > \*\* 1387, to be exact. 😃 Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2001, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/islands-and-continents/68266/8 "2001-06-12T01:21:16Z")
No doubt, all those threads discussing bowel troubles… (ducking and running) 😉 ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2001, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/islands-and-continents/68266/9 "2001-06-12T02:00:03Z")
You need to search with more than one keyword to narrow down the results: [Why is Greenland considered an island but not Eurasia?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=2721) and [Continents](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=1604) There’s another thread or two on the topic, but these seem to be the best.