Si·ci·ly

(sĭs′ə-lē)

An island of southern Italy in the Mediterranean Sea west of the southern end of the Italian peninsula. It was colonized from the eighth century bc by Greeks, who displaced the earlier Phoenician settlers. The next conquerors were Carthaginians, who in turn were conquered by Romans in the third century bc. After a succession of other rulers the island came under the control of the Normans in the 11th century ad and formed the nucleus of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, consisting of Sicily and southern Italy. The island continued to change hands until a later kingdom was conquered by Giuseppe Garibaldi in 1860 and became part of unified Italy.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Sicily

(ˈsɪsɪlɪ)

(Placename) the largest island in the Mediterranean, separated from the tip of SW Italy by the Strait of Messina: administratively an autonomous region of Italy; settled by Phoenicians, Greeks, and Carthaginians before the Roman conquest of 241 bc; under Normans (12th–13th centuries); formed the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies with Naples in 1815; mountainous and volcanic. Capital: Palermo. Pop: 4 972 124 (2003 est). Area: 25 460 sq km (9830 sq miles). Latin names: Sicilia or Trinacria Italian name: Sicilia

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

Sic•i•ly

(ˈsɪs ə li)

n.

the largest island in the Mediterranean, constituting a region of Italy, and separated from the SW tip of the mainland by the Strait of Messina. 5,141,343; 9924 sq. mi. (25,705 sq. km). Cap.: Palermo. Italian, Sicilia. Ancient, Sicilia, Trinacria.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	Sicily - the Italian region on the island of Sicily Sicilia Aegadean Islands, Aegadean Isles, Aegates, Egadi Islands, Isole Egadi - a group of islands off the west coast of Sicily in the Mediterranean Italia, Italian Republic, Italy - a republic in southern Europe on the Italian Peninsula; was the core of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire between the 4th century BC and the 5th century AD Messina - a port city in northeastern Sicily on the Strait of Messina Siracusa, Syracuse - a city in southeastern Sicily that was founded by Corinthians in the 8th century BC Palermo - the capital of Sicily; located in northwestern Sicily; an important port for 3000 years Acragas, Agrigento - a town in Italy in southwestern Sicily near the coast; the site of six Greek temples Etna, Mount Etna, Mt Etna - an inactive volcano in Sicily; last erupted in 1961; the highest volcano in Europe (10,500 feet) Sicilian - a resident of Sicily
	2.	Sicily - the largest island in the Mediterranean Sicilia Passero, Cape Passero - a naval battle in the Mediterranean Sea off Cape Passero in which the Spanish navy was destroyed by France and England while attempting to recover Sicily and Sardinia from Italy (1719) siege of Syracuse, Syracuse - the Athenian siege of Syracuse (415-413 BC) was eventually won by Syracuse siege of Syracuse, Syracuse - the Roman siege of Syracuse (214-212 BC) was eventually won by the Romans who sacked the city (killing Archimedes) Cape Passero, Passero Cape - a cape that forms the southeastern corner of the island of Sicily Mediterranean, Mediterranean Sea - the largest inland sea; between Europe and Africa and Asia

Translations

Sicily

[ˈsɪsɪlɪ] N → Sicilia f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

Sicily

[ˈsɪsɪli] n → Sicile f
in Sicily → en Sicile
to Sicily → en Sicile

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

Sicily

n → Sizilien nt

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

Sicily

[ˈsɪsɪlɪ] n → la Sicilia

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

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References in classic literature

There was a certain person in Sicily who laid out a sum of money which was deposited in his hand in buying up all the iron from the iron merchants; so that when the dealers came from the markets to purchase, there was no one had any to sell but himself; and though he put no great advance upon it, yet by laying out fifty talents he made an hundred.

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I presume "middle" means "middle between the two Greek-speaking countries of Asia Minor and Sicily, with South Italy"; for that parts of Sicily and also large parts, though not the whole of South Italy, were inhabited by Greek-speaking races centuries before the Dorian colonisations can hardly be doubted.

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Being established in that position, and having deliberately resolved to make himself prince and to seize by violence, without obligation to others, that which had been conceded to him by assent, he came to an understanding for this purpose with Amilcar, the Carthaginian, who, with his army, was fighting in Sicily. One morning he assembled the people and the senate of Syracuse, as if he had to discuss with them things relating to the Republic, and at a given signal the soldiers killed all the senators and the richest of the people; these dead, he seized and held the princedom of that city without any civil commotion.

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The next point of interest will be Palermo, the most beautiful city of Sicily, which will be reached in one night from Naples.

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The claim to Comedy is put forward by the Megarians,--not only by those of Greece proper, who allege that it originated under their democracy, but also by the Megarians of Sicily, for the poet Epicharmus, who is much earlier than Chionides and Magnes, belonged to that country.

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We were then passing between Sicily and the coast of Tunis.

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But when Hermes had hidden them in the cliff by Coryphasium, and had driven them into a cave facing towards Italy and Sicily, he changed himself and came again to Battus and tried whether he would be true to him as he had vowed.

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Likewise, in the island of Sicily, there have been found leg-bones and arm-bones so large that their size makes it plain that their owners were giants, and as tall as great towers; geometry puts this fact beyond a doubt.

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In the morning I had been reading Glover's "Leonidas," Wilkie's "Epigoniad," Lamartine's "Pilgrimage," Barlow's "Columbiad," Tuckermann's "Sicily," and Griswold's "Curiosities" ; I am willing to confess, therefore, that I now felt a little stupid.

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"See, count," she said, with a smile so sad in its expression that one could almost detect the tears on her eyelids -- "see, our French grapes are not to be compared, I know, with yours of Sicily and Cyprus, but you will make allowance for our northern sun." The count bowed, but stepped back.

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after all, it is not imagined Greece, dreamy, antique Sicily, but the present world about us, though mistakable for a moment, delightfully, for the land, the age, of Sappho, of Theocritus:--

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I heard the eight singers of the King of Sicily intone the first verse of seven o'clock mass in the Sainte-Chapelle."

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