Melanesia

//ˌmɛl.əˈniː.zi.ə// name

name ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A continental region of Oceania, consisting of New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Fiji.

    "My job, then, is that of a cultural and religious broker of sorts, co-opting Melanesia to serve as a stimulus to thought in Le Moyne classrooms."

Example

More examples

"My job, then, is that of a cultural and religious broker of sorts, co-opting Melanesia to serve as a stimulus to thought in Le Moyne classrooms."

Etymology

From French Mélanésie (coined by Jules Dumont d'Urville), from Ancient Greek μέλας (mélas, “dark”) + νῆσος (nêsos, “island”), referring to the skin color of the inhabitants.

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.