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Italy definition

Ita·ly (it′'l ē)

country in S Europe, mostly on a peninsula extending into the Mediterranean & including Sicily, Sardinia, and numerous other islands: formerly a kingdom created by the unification of various Italian monarchies & states (1861), it became a republic in 1946: 116,333 sq mi (301,301 sq km); pop. 56,778,000; cap. Rome: It. name Italia

Etymology: L Italia, altered, prob. by Greeks living in S Italy < earlier (prob. Oscan) Víteliú; orig. used only of the SW point of the peninsula

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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