Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • An island group of southeast Greece in the Aegean Sea between Turkey and Crete. The name means “12 islands,” although there are also several islets. The islands were held by Turkey from 1522 until 1912.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun An island chain consisting of twelve main islands including Rhodes, its capital.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a group of islands in the southeast Aegean Sea

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Ancient Greek Δωδεκάνησα (dodekanesos, "twelve islands"), from δώδεκα (dodeka, "twelve") + νήσος (nesos, "island").

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Examples

  • At the eastern end, in the Aegean Sea, nestled up against Turkey, are the islands of Rhodes, Cos, Leros, and Samos, collectively called the Dodecanese Islands see Map 1.

    General Ike John S.D. Eisenhower 2003

  • Seven miles long and three wide, it was a speck at the edge of the eastern Aegean, one of a scattering of islands along the Turkish coast known as the Dodecanese, ten hours by ship from Athens’s port of Piraeus in the northwest and exactly the same from the island of Rhodes to the south.

    The Summer of My Greek Tavérna Tom Stone 2002

  • Muses Yialós platía, Symi +30 695 873 4503, mains around €20Greg Ward, writer on the Dodecanese for the Rough Guide to Greece

    Insiders' guide to Greece 2011

  • Each August, the Italians arrive – a reminder that the Dodecanese were colonised by Italy until 1948.

    Insiders' guide to Greece 2011

  • Each August, the Italians arrive – a reminder that the Dodecanese were colonised by Italy until 1948.

    Insiders' guide to Greece 2011

  • She runs Greek cookery courses in London at Leith's Cookery School, and supperclubs see facebook.com/GreekCookery … FOR BOUTIQUE HOTELS The Dodecanese islands, just off the Turkish coast, still see their share of island-hopping backpackers, but they're acquiring a new breed of luxurious boutique hotels, designed to complement local architecture.

    Insiders' guide to Greece 2011

  • She runs Greek cookery courses in London at Leith's Cookery School, and supperclubs see facebook.com/GreekCookery … FOR BOUTIQUE HOTELS The Dodecanese islands, just off the Turkish coast, still see their share of island-hopping backpackers, but they're acquiring a new breed of luxurious boutique hotels, designed to complement local architecture.

    Insiders' guide to Greece 2011

  • Muses Yialós platía, Symi +30 695 873 4503, mains around €20Greg Ward, writer on the Dodecanese for the Rough Guide to Greece

    Insiders' guide to Greece 2011

  • He was held for ransom at the Dodecanese islet of Pharmacusa.

    'Piracy Today: Fighting Villainy on the High Seas' 2010

  • He was held for ransom at the Dodecanese islet of Pharmacusa.

    'Piracy Today: Fighting Villainy on the High Seas' 2010

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