Archipelago
Archipelago ({not transcribed}) , noun
[Italian arcipelago, properly, chief sea; Greek pref {not transcribed} + {not transcribed} sea, perh. akin to {not transcribed} blow, and expressing the beating of the waves. See Plague.]
1.
The Grecian Archipelago, or Agean Sea, separating Greece from Asia Minor. It is studded with a vast number of small islands.
2.
Hence: Any sea or broad sheet of water interspersed with many islands or with a group of islands.