Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Mainland |
MainlandNoun1. The main land mass of a country or continent; as distinguished from an island or peninsula. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "mainland" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1588. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Geography | One of the main continuous bodies of land on the earth's surface. Source: European Union. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Continental Europe is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding the European islands and peninsulae.In British usage, Great Britain and Ireland are excluded. In the English-speaking mind, Continental Europe is foremost represented by the Benelux, Germany and especially France.
In Scandinavian usage, the British Isles, Scandinavia, Iceland and Finland are excluded.
See also: Mainland
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Continental Europe."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Mainland is usually the continental part of a region, as opposed to the islands nearby. Sometimes the residents are called "the Mainlanders". As a result of the usually larger area of mainland, there are significantly more mainlanders than islanders, and mainlander culture and politics sometimes threaten to dominate those of the islands.Prominent Mainlands include:
Occasionally two approximately equal sized islands may interchangely refer to each other as the Mainland, as in the North Island and South Island of New Zealand.
- Mainland China, as opposed to the areas of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau (but including the island of Hainan)
- Mainland Canada, as opposed to Newfoundland
- Continental United States ("The Mainland"), as opposed to Hawaii and Alaska
- Mainland Japan and Honshu, as opposed to the rest of the Japanese islands.
- Mainland Australia, as opposed to Tasmania
- the Nova Scotian mainland, as opposed to Cape Breton Island
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Mainland."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
zh-cn:中国大陆 zh-tw:中國大陸
''Skin-coloured area is Mainland China, yellow part is Taiwan. All islands except Hainan (part of Mainland) and Taiwan are invisible on the map.
Mainland China (中国大陆 or 中國大陸, pinyin: Zhōnggúo Dàlù, lit. "The Chinese Massive Landmass" or "Continental China"), is an informal geographical term which is usually synonymous with the area currently administered by the People's Republic of China (PRC) which excludes the area controlled by the Republic of China (ROC), namely Taiwan, Penghu, Quemoy, Matsu islands. It also usually excludes the two special administrative regions administered by the People's Republic of China: Hong Kong and Macau. In contrast to the term China proper, the term usually also includes Tibet, Xinjiang, and Inner Mongolia.
Curiously, the term usually includes offshore islands administered by the PRC such as Hainan. The term Zhongguo dalu is commonly used on Taiwan because it is a neutral term and does not contain implications about the political status of Taiwan.
More recently, the term Zhongguo neidi (內地 "the inner regions of China") has become the most common term within Mainland China to refer to Mainland China, although the term is infrequently used outside of Mainland China.
In Taiwan, the term Mainlander can refer to wai sheng ren (外省人, literal meaning: "external province person(s)"), who are the people who emigrated to Taiwan from Mainland China near end of the Chinese Civil War. Or the term can refer to da lu ren (大陸人, literal meaning: "Mainland person(s)"), meaning the people who live on the Mainland now.
Relations between Mainland China and Taiwan are typically known in Chinese as liang'an guanxi (兩岸關係), which literally means "relations between the two sides/seashores (of the Strait of Taiwan)". The term liang'an (two sides) is often used when describing Mainland China and Taiwan collectively. Again these terms are commonly found because they are politically-neutral and do not contain implications about the nature of the relationship between Mainland China and Taiwan.
See also: Mainland
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Mainland China."
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Land | Continent, mainland, peninsula, chersonese, delta; tongue of land, neck of land; isthmus, oasis; promontory. (projection); highland. (height). |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Mainland |
| English words defined with "mainland": Cabot, Canada, Cape Sable, China, continent ♦ Danmark, Denmark ♦ Formosa ♦ Giovanni Cabato ♦ Helladic civilization, Helladic culture, Hondo, Honshu ♦ Isthmus of Kra ♦ John Cabot ♦ Katar, Katar Peninsula, Kingdom of Denmark ♦ Menai Strait ♦ Nationalist China ♦ Qatar, Qatar Peninsula ♦ Republic of China ♦ Strait of Georgia ♦ Taiwan ♦ West Palm Beach. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "mainland": Caribbean Region ♦ Devil's Nostrils ♦ ENTADA SCANDENS ♦ Macdonald. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | When the boat arrives from the mainland, there will be ten dead bodies, and a riddle no one can solve on Indian Island (And Then There Were None; writing credit: Agatha Christie; Dudley Nichols) Well, there's fishing, boating, and concerts on the mainland. (Five Easy Pieces; writing credit: Carole Eastman; Bob Rafelson) We weren't over the air. The power is off on the mainland now in case you haven't heard, and all the shopping malls are closed (Day of the Dead; writing credit: George A. Romero) Now here is a little peninsula and here is a viaduct leading over to the mainland. (The Cocoanuts; writing credit: George S. Kaufman; Morrie Ryskind) He won't go in the water and he sits in the car when we go on the farrey to the mainland! There's a clinical name for what he has, I think it's - (Jaws; writing credit: Peter Benchley; Carl Gottlieb) | |
Clever | Hawaii: Haka Tiki Mou Sha'ami Leeki Toru (Death To Mainland Scum, But Leave Your Money) (references; author: unknown) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
Books |
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Periodicals |
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Theater & Movies | |||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | The Sapelo Island visitor center near Meridian Dock on the Georgia mainland. Tours of the Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve begin here. Credit: America's Coastlines. |  | The ferry boat "Anne Marie", named for the wife of tobacco magnate R. J. Reynolds. This vessel makes the 5-mile trip 3-4 times daily from the mainland to Marsh Landing Dock on Sapelo Island. Credit: America's Coastlines. |
 | Point Sur, connected to the mainland by a narrow sand beach. Credit: America's Coastlines. |  | Looking toward the mainland from the top of Galindez Island. 67 15 S Latitude 64 15 W Longitude. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth. |
 | The mainland from Gerlache Strait. 64 30 S Latitude 62 20 W Longitude. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth. |  | Other than the cold, baseline measurements were facilitated by measuring across the flat lagoon ice from mainland point-to-point. Baselines were measured to second-order standards and 4-5 miles long. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth. |
 | Collection of gillnets at a reference site, the mainland can be seen in the background. Credit: NOAA Restoration Center. |  | Aerial view taken from a plane assigned to USS Aroostook (CM-3), soon after seven ships of Destroyer Squadron Eleven ran aground on Honda Point, California, during the night of 8 September 1923. Point Arguello and its lighthouse are in the foreground. Some of the stranded ships are visible in the distance. Those identifiable are: USS Fuller (DD-297) in the upper right, just to left of a small rock island; and USS Young (DD-312), capsized between Fuller and the mainland, in upper right. Two salvage ships are standing by, to the left of Fuller. Credit: NAVY. |
 | On guard on Formaosa. A Chinese Nationalist soldier stands guard on a sandy beach somewhere along Formosa's shoreline as Chinese Reds on the mainland continue their threats to attack the island stronghold of the Nationalists / Associated Press photo. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Reindeer on mainland. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |
| "Road of Alanya" by Harry De Bruijn Commentary: "This was a shot of the island connected to the mainland of Alanya. The roads in Turkey are very slippery as you can see." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Scarlet Letter | Hawthorne, Nathaniel | The road, after the two wayfarers had crossed from the peninsula to the mainland, was no other than a footpath |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | A facility in Florida has been irradiating strawberries and other fruits on a limited basis, to prolong shelf life. On a trial basis, fresh tropical fruits from Hawaii have been irradiated before shipping them to the mainland, instead of fumigating them to eliminate the fruit fly pests that could spread to the mainland. (references) | |
Business | Taiwan and mainland firms seek to emulate American firms. (references) | |
The system’s generation capability is 110 MW and is connected to mainland by an 80 MW submarine cable. (references) | ||
The generating systems of lignite-fired, oil fired and hydroelectric units are installed in the mainland. (references) | ||
Children | Tanzania | The law provides for 7 years of compulsory education through the age of 15; however, education is not free on both the mainland and in Zanzibar. (references) |
Civil Liberties | Taiwan | The Bureau of Entry and Exit faults mainland Chinese authorities for delays in repatriation. (references) |
Taiwan | Moreover, cable television systems broadcast uncensored television channels from mainland China. (references) | |
Discrimination | Hong Kong | In August the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination recommended that "appropriate legislation be adopted to provide appropriate legal remedies and prohibit discrimination based on race, color, descent or national or ethnic origin." Meanwhile, press reports continued to identify examples of strong societal prejudice against minority groups including mainland Chinese migrants. (references) |
Economic History | Equatorial Guinea | Bata on the mainland is somewhat drier and cooler. (references) |
China | U.S. consular officials remained in mainland China. (references) | |
Human Rights | Tanzania | There were no reports of political prisoners on the mainland. (references) |
Macau | This Committee is composed of 10 members, 5 from the SAR and 5 from the mainland. (references) | |
Hong Kong | Prominent human rights activists who focus on mainland China also operate freely and enjoy permanent resident status in Hong Kong. (references) | |
Minorities | Tanzania | The mainland is 60 percent Christian and 40 percent Muslim, whereas Zanzibar is 97 percent Muslim. (references) |
Equatorial Guinea | Before independence the Bubis were a majority of the population on the island of Bioko (then Fernando Po), which was both administratively distinct from and more economically developed than the larger and more populous mainland (then Rio Muni), where the Fang were a majority. (references) | |
Political Economy | Taiwan | The Chen administration is seeking to improve relations with the mainland by resuming the cross-strait dialogue. (references) |
Political Rights | Hong Kong | Procedures for amendment or interpretations that originate in the mainland are unclear. (references) |
Tanzania | The incumbent President of the mainland, Benjamin Mkapa, was reelected with 71 percent of the vote. (references) | |
Tanzania | Subsequently some occupants decided to leave Zanzibar or to send family members to the mainland until after the election. (references) | |
Trade | Spain | The EU common customs apply to the mainland and Balearic Isles. (references) |
Venezuela | The sale of duty-free merchandise from the island to the mainland is subject to quotas. (references) | |
Tanzania | All imports into mainland Tanzania are liable to payment of import duty and value added tax VAT. (references) | |
Travel | Argentina | Argentina is located in southern South America and has a total area of approximately 1,500,000 square miles including the mainland and the Argentine Antarctica and South Atlantic Islands. (references) |
Women | Hong Kong | Violence against women remains a problem, particularly among new immigrants from the mainland. (references) |
Hong Kong | The Hong Kong Federation of Women's Centres asked the Government to prepare a comprehensive services plan especially for women from the mainland, with counseling and job-training to help them integrate. (references) | |
Worker Rights | Hong Kong | Large numbers of mainland Chinese women also illegally engage in prostitution with the reported assistance of organized criminal groups. (references) |
Tanzania | The Union Government enforces labor laws for the mainland and the Zanzibar Government enforces legislation specific to Zanzibar and Pemba islands. (references) | |
Hong Kong | In late 2000, law enforcement authorities discovered a container on a ship bound for the United States that housed 12 mainland Chinese attempting illegal passage. (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
William H. Taft | 1909-1913 | I refer to the cost of maintaining a proper army, a proper navy, and suitable fortifications upon the mainland of the United States and in its dependencies. |
Lyndon B. Johnson | 1963-1969 | In recent months a number of nations have cast out those who would subject them to the ambitions of mainland China. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Mainland" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 96.63% of the time. "Mainland" is used about 1,038 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 96.63% | 1,003 | 7,340 |
| Noun (proper) | 3.37% | 35 | 58,339 |
| Total | 100.00% | 1,038 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following table summarizes the usage of "mainland" based on a population census conducted in the United States. Ranks and frequencies are based on all names reported and classified. |
| Name | Usage/Gender | Usage per 100 million Persons | Rank in USA |
| Mainland | Last name | 100 | 81,636 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits. | |||
Expression using "mainland": mainland China. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "mainland": mainland-backed, mainland-based, mainland-elected. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "mainland"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Afrikaans | vasteland (continent). (various references) | |
Albanian | stere, kontinent (continent, natural ground). (various references) | |
Arabic | يابسة (land), البر الرئيسى (main), بر (ground, land). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | суша (air, aridness, bake, drought, dry, earth, exsiccate, fire, land, main, terra firma, weather), континентален (continental), континент (continent), земя (acres, clod, dirt, earth, estate, geo, ground, land, mould, soil). (various references) | |
Chinese | 大陆 (Continent, Continental), 大陸 (continent, mainland China). (various references) | |
Czech | velký ostrov, pevnina (continent, land). (various references) | |
Danish | fastland (continent), verdensdel (continent), kontinent (continent). (various references) | |
Dutch | vasteland (continent), continent (continent), werelddeel (continent). (various references) | |
Esperanto | kontinento (continent). (various references) | |
Farsi | قطعه اصلی (Terrafirma), قطعه (Bloc, Block, Dab, Fragment, Goblet, Internode, Lot, Nugget, Pane, Panel, Passage, Piece, Plank, Plat, Plot, Section, Segment, Slab, Smidgen, Snip, Tract), قاره (Continent), خشکی (Land, Terrafirma, Welter), بر (Against, Bosom, Fruit, In, Man, On, Upon). (various references) | |
Finnish | manner (continent). (various references) | |
French | continent. (various references) | |
Frisian | wrâlddiel (continent), fêstelân (continent). (various references) | |
German | Kontinent (continent), Festland (continent, dry land, land). (various references) | |
Greek | στερεά (terra firma), ηπειρωτική γη, ηπειρωτική χώρα, ήπειροσ (continent, epirus), ήπειρος (continent). (various references) | |
Hebrew | יבשת (continent), יבשה (dry land, land). (various references) | |
Hungarian | szárazföld (continent, dry land, earth, land, terra firma). (various references) | |
Indonesian | daratan (landing). (various references) | |
Italian | continente (continent, moderate, temperate), terraferma (solid ground). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 本土 (one's home country, the country proper), 内地 (homeland, inland, interior of country). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | ないち (homeland, inland, interior of country, internal or domestic affairs), ほんど (one's home country, the country proper). (various references) | |
Korean | 본토. (various references) | |
Manx | neuellanagh (new resident, non-Manx), cheer vooar. (various references) | |
Papiamen | kontinente (continent). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | ainlandmay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | continente (box, chaste, continent, jug, main, vessel, world). (various references) | |
Romanian | uscat (adust, arenaceous, arid, barren, continent, crusty, dry, earth, fleshless, hungry, husky, land, main, meager, meagre, parched, sear, sere, shore, shrunken, slack, stale, thirsty, well-seasoned, wizened), continental (continental), continent (continent, natural ground). (various references) | |
Russian | материк (continent, land, natural ground). (various references) | |
Scottish | mór-thir (continent). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | kopno (land). (various references) | |
Spanish | continente (continent). (various references) | |
Swedish | fastland (continent). (various references) | |
Turkish | anakara (continent). (various references) | |
Turkmen | materik (continent). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | найбільший острів, материк (continent, natural ground). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | lục địa (continent), đất liền (earth). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | continens, continentem, continentes, continentis. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "mainland": mainlander, mainlanders, mainlands. (additional references) | |
| |
"Mainland" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Maeslaan, mailand, mainlands, Majiblond, manilan, Marineland, Mayland, Mcausland, Meinhard, Meuland, minilink, Moinlam, muirland. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "mainland" (pronounced mā"nla'nd or mā"nlund) |
| 5 | -n l a' n d | inland, sunland. |
| 4 | -l a' n d | Badland, cropland, lowland, dreamland, fairyland, Fantasyland, farmland, Fatherland, flatland, grassland, heartland, hinterland, homeland, marshland, Midland, moorland, motherland, Northland, outland, overland, parkland, Southland, Timberland, wasteland, wetland, Wonderland, woodland. |
| 3 | -a' n d | ampersand, armband, backhand, bandstand, beforehand, broadband, contraband, longhand, farmhand, firebrand, forehand, freehand, grandstand, handstand, headband, newsstand, nightstand, quicksand, reprimand, seastrand, secondhand, shorthand, spaceband, stagehand, undermanned. |
| 4 | -l u n d | aland, disciplined, island, dockland, Eland, Garland, Highland, Holland, Norland, Shetland, soland, upland. |
| 3 | -u n d | abandoned, aforementioned, almond, apportioned, auctioned, auditioned, awakened, bargained, beckoned, blackened, bludgeoned, brightened, broadened, burdened, burgeoned, buttoned, captioned, cautioned, championed, chastened, cheapened, chickened, christened, commissioned, conditioned, cordoned, cottoned, cushioned, dampened, darkened, decommissioned, deepened, destined, determined, diamond, dimensioned, jettisoned, leavened, legend, lengthened, lessened, ligand, lightened, likened, listened, livened, loosened, disheartened, disillusioned, emblazoned, emboldened, engined, enlightened, enlivened, envisioned, errand, evened, examined, fashioned, fastened, fattened, flattened, frightened, functioned, gardened, garrisoned, glistened, happened, hardened, hastened, heartened, heightened, husband, illumined, imagined, impassioned, imprisoned, malfunctioned, margined, mentioned, millisecond, moistened, moribund, motioned, nanosecond, occasioned, opened, optioned, orphaned, Osmund, overburdened, pardoned, partitioned, petitioned, poisoned, positioned, predestined, predetermined, prisoned, proportioned, propositioned, questioned, quickened, rationed, reasoned, reawakened, rechristened, reckoned, reconditioned, reexamined, reopened, repositioned, requisitioned, Reverend, ripened, ruined, saddened, sanctioned, seasoned, second, sectioned, sharpened, shortened, sickened, siphoned, slackened, softened, stationed, steepened, stiffened, stipend, straightened, strengthened, summoned, sweetened, thickened, thousand, threatened, tightened, toughened, unburdened, unbuttoned, undetermined, unenlightened, unmentioned, unopened, unquestioned, unsanctioned, vacationed, weakened, widened, wizened, worsened. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-a-d-i-l-m-n-n" | |
-1 letter: landman. | |
-2 letters: aidman, alanin, animal, inland, lamina, manila. | |
-3 letters: adman, aland, amain, amnia, anima, annal, daman, lamia, lanai, liana, liman, mania, manna, naiad, nidal. | |
-4 letters: alan, alma, amia, amid, amin, anal, anil, anna, damn, dial, laid, lain, lama, land, lima, limn, linn, maid, mail, main, mana, mild, mina, mind, naan, nada, nail, nana. | |
-5 letters: aal. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-a-d-i-l-m-n-n" | |
+1 letter: almandine, mainlands. | |
+2 letters: almandines, calamondin, mainlander. | |
+3 letters: calamondins, mainlanders, manhandling. | |
+4 letters: delaminating, delamination, salamandrine. | |
+5 letters: delaminations, determinantal, unmanipulated. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Crosswords 3. Usage: Modern 4. Usage: Commercial | 5. Images: Slideshow 6. Images: Photo Album 7. Images: Digital Art 8. Quotations: Fiction | 9. Quotations: Non-fiction 10. Quotations: Speeches 11. Usage Frequency 12. Names: Frequency | 13. Expressions 14. Expressions: Internet 15. Translations: Modern 16. Translations: Ancient | 17. Derivations 18. Rhymes 19. Anagrams 20. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
