group of islands of the Leeward group in the West Indies, east of Puerto Rico, comprising the British Virgin Islands, easternmost islands of this group, constituting a British territory (58 sq mi, 151 sq km), & the Virgin Islands of the United States, the islands of this group closest to Puerto Rico, constituting a territory of the U.S. (134 sq mi, 347 sq km; cap. Charlotte Amalie: abbrev. VI)
Origin of Virgin Islands
from Spanish Las Virgenes, the virgins, so named (1493) by Columbus in honor of the legendary 11,000 followers of St. Ursula
