MADAGASCAR

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Madagascar mean? 

• MADAGASCAR (noun)
  The noun MADAGASCAR has 2 senses:

1. a republic on the island of Madagascar; achieved independence from France in 1960

2. an island in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa; the 4th largest island in the world

  Familiarity information: MADAGASCAR used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MADAGASCAR (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A republic on the island of Madagascar; achieved independence from France in 1960

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Synonyms:

Madagascar; Malagasy Republic; Republic of Madagascar

Instance hypernyms:

African country; African nation (any one of the countries occupying the African continent)

Meronyms (parts of "Madagascar"):

Antananarivo; capital of Madagascar (the capital and largest city of Madagascar)

Meronyms (members of "Madagascar"):

Madagascan (a native or inhabitant of Madagascar)

Holonyms ("Madagascar" is a part of...):

Madagascar (an island in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa; the 4th largest island in the world)

Africa (the second largest continent; located to the south of Europe and bordered to the west by the South Atlantic and to the east by the Indian Ocean)

Derivation:

Madagascan (of or relating to Madagascar or its people)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An island in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa; the 4th largest island in the world

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Instance hypernyms:

island (a land mass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water)

Meronyms (parts of "Madagascar"):

Madagascar; Malagasy Republic; Republic of Madagascar (a republic on the island of Madagascar; achieved independence from France in 1960)

Holonyms ("Madagascar" is a part of...):

Indian Ocean (the 3rd largest ocean; bounded by Africa on the west, Asia on the north, Australia on the east and merging with the Antarctic Ocean to the south)

Derivation:

Madagascan (of or relating to Madagascar or its people)

 Context examples 

A group of islands in the Mozambique Channel, about two-thirds of the way between northern Madagascar and northern Mozambique, northwest of Mayotte.

(Comoros, NCI Thesaurus)

"No other ecosystem on the face of the planet from any time period perfectly matches what we're finding. It's a completely unique mammalian ecosystem, much as Madagascar is today."

(Fossil discovery adds to understanding of how geological changes affected evolution of mammalian life, National Science Foundation)

The species, found on Madagascar, is shaking up theories of early mammal evolution and diversity.

(Scientists discover fossil of bizarre groundhog-like mammal on Madagascar, NSF)

She's been at Madagascar, and at Malabar, and Surinam, and Providence, and Portobello.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

“What does he do, but, lo and behold you, he goes into a perfumer's shop, and wants to buy a bottle of the Madagascar Liquid.”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

During the tectonically active Cretaceous Period, southern Africa lost Madagascar and Antarctica as they split off to the east and south, followed by the gradual northward unzipping of South America.

(Paleontologists discover new species of sauropod dinosaur in Tanzania, National Science Foundation)

Islands in the Indian Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Madagascar to Antarctica.

(Heard Island and McDonald Islands, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

Research at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, sheds the first light on the life of a young Rapetosaurus, a titanosaurian sauropod buried in the Upper Cretaceous Maevarano Formation of Madagascar.

(Newly discovered baby Titanosaur sheds light on dinosaurs' early lives, NSF)

But first they resolved to sell the goods in the ship, and then go to Madagascar for recruits, several among them having died since my confinement.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

A group of islands in the Indian Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Madagascar to Antarctica, southeast of the French Southern and Antarctic Islands.

(Heard Island and McDonald Islands, NCI Thesaurus)