Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Isthmus |
IsthmusNoun1. A relatively narrow strip of land (with water on both sides) connecting two larger land areas. 2. A narrow band of tissue connecting two larger parts of an anatomical structure. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "isthmus" was first used: 1555. (references) |
Etymology: Isthmus \Isth"mus\, noun; plural Isthmuses. [Latin expression isthmus, Greek 'isqmo`s neck, neck of land between two seas, an isthmus, especially the Isthmus of Corinth; probably from the root of 'ie`nai to go; compare to Icelandic ei[eth] isthmus. See Issue.]. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Science | Narrow strip of land located between two bodies of water, connecting two larger land areas. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Simplified diagramAn isthmus is a narrow strip of land, bordered on two sides by water, and connects two larger land masses. The term is pronounced “IS-mus” with a silent th. The plural form can either be isthmuses or isthmi.
The most famous isthmus is Panama, which connects the North and South American continents. Other isthmuses include:
Because isthmuses are narrow, they are logical places to build canals. The Panama Canal, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, drastically cut down on the naval travel time between the east and west coasts of the Americas. The previously mentioned Suez Canal is also another good example—its construction made travel between Europe and Asia much, much shorter.
- the Isthmus of Suez: the isthmus between Africa and Asia, in Egypt where the Suez Canal is located
- the Isthmus of Kra, which joins the Malay Peninsula with mainland Asia
- The first isthmus so-named is the Isthmus of Corinth, in Greece
- the Isthmus of Avalon, Canada: separate the main island of Newfoundland from the Peninsula of Avalon (where the capital, St. John's, is).
Isthmuses are the duals of straits. That is, while isthmuses lie between two bodies of water and joins two larger land masses, straits lie between two land masses and connects two larger bodies of water.
See also: geography, Mainland
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Isthmus."
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Connection | Noun: vinculum, link; connective, connection; junction; bond of union, copula, hyphen, intermedium; bracket; bridge, stepping-stone, isthmus. |
Land | Continent, mainland, peninsula, chersonese, delta; tongue of land, neck of land; isthmus, oasis; promontory. (projection); highland. (height). |
Narrowness Thinness | Middle constriction, stricture, neck, waist, isthmus, wasp, hourglass; ridge, ghaut, ghat, pass; ravine. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Isthmus |
| English words defined with "isthmus": Chersonese ♦ isthmian, Isthmian Games, Isthmus of Corinth, Isthmus of Kra, Isthmus of Panama, Isthmus of Suez, Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Isthmuses ♦ Karelian Isthmus, Kingdom of Thailand ♦ North America ♦ Panama, Panama Canal ♦ Republic of Panama ♦ Siam, South America ♦ Thailand. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "isthmus": Fallopian Tubes ♦ Pi-hahiroth. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "isthmus": isthmian. (references) |
| Non-English Usage: "Isthmus" is also a word in the following language with the English translation in parentheses. German (isthmus). |
| Domain | Title | ||
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Periodicals |
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Music |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Leveling across Isthmus of Panama. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |  | Colon, eastern terminal of the Panama Canal, Isthmus of Panama. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Author | Quotation |
Charles Caleb Colton | Time; that black and narrow isthmus between two eternities. |
Theodore Roosevelt | To-night while I was preparing to dictate a message to Congress concerning the boiling caldron on the Isthmus of Panama, which has now begun to bubble over, up came one of the ushers with a telegram from you and Ted about the football match. Instantly I bolted into the next room to read it aloud to mother and sister, and we all cheered in unison when we came to the Rah! Rah! Rah! part of it. It was a great score. I wish I could have seen the game. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Business | The National Economic and Development Board (NESDB) initially approved the SSDP in 1993, as part of the Southern Seaboard Development Master Plan. The plan emphasizes on the development of an “energy corridor” through the construction of Intermodal Landbridge with high-speed road, rail, and petroleum pipeline links across the Isthmus of Thailand between two new deep sea ports with oil terminals. (references) | |
Economic History | Panama | Panama occupies the southeastern end of the isthmus forming the land bridge between North and South America. (references) |
Panama | A year later, Christopher Columbus visited the isthmus and established a short-lived settlement in the Darien. (references) | |
Panama | Gold and silver were brought by ship from South America, hauled across the isthmus, and loaded aboard ships for Spain. (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
William H. Taft | 1909-1913 | We must not now, therefore, keep up a fire in the rear of the agents whom we have authorized to do our work on the Isthmus. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Isthmus" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 70.59% of the time. "Isthmus" is used about 34 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) | 70.59% | 24 | 71,196 |
| Noun (proper) | 29.41% | 10 | 111,207 |
| Total | 100.00% | 34 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "isthmus": isthmus of Corinth ♦ isthmus of Kra ♦ isthmus of Panama ♦ isthmus of Suez ♦ isthmus of Tehuantepec ♦ Isthmus of the fauces ♦ Karelian Isthmus. Additional references. | |
| 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. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
isthmus | 123 |
isthmus madison | 24 |
isthmus of panama | 13 |
isthmus newspaper | 9 |
isthmus sailboards | 8 |
daily isthmus page | 4 |
isthmus madison wi | 4 |
isthmus lighting | 3 |
isthmus windsurfing | 3 |
isthmus of tehuantepec | 3 |
isthmus kra | 3 |
isthmus madison wisconsin | 3 |
isthmus thyroid | 2 |
isthmus madison newspaper | 2 |
casino de isthmus | 2 |
isthmus picture | 2 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "isthmus"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Arabic | مضيق (bottleneck, gorge, narrow, panhandle, sound, strait), قطاع بري, برزخ. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | провлак (neck). (various references) | |
Czech | mořská úžina (sound), šíje (nape, neck). (various references) | |
Danish | isthmus, landtange. (various references) | |
Dutch | istmus, isthmus, landengte. (various references) | |
Farsi | تنگه خالی , باریکه (Jog, Slab, Slice, Strip, Tab), برزخ (Limbo). (various references) | |
Finnish | kannas (neck of land). (various references) | |
French | isthme. (various references) | |
German | landenge (neck), isthmus. (various references) | |
Greek | ισθμόσ, ισθμός. (various references) | |
Hebrew | מצר ים (sound), רצועת יבש" צר". (various references) | |
Hungarian | földszoros (neck). (various references) | |
Indonesian | pegentingan. (various references) | |
Italian | istmo (neck). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 地峡 . (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | きょうぶ (breast, chest), ちきょう. (various references) | |
Manx | quing hallooin. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | isthmusay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | istmo (neck). (various references) | |
Romanian | istm (neck). (various references) | |
Russian | перешеек (neck). (various references) | |
Scottish | tairbeart (an isthmus, peninsula), dòirling, dòirlinn. (various references) | |
Sepedi | molalanaga. (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | zemljouz, suženje (constriction, stenosis). (various references) | |
Spanish | istmo (neck). (various references) | |
Swedish | näs, landtunga (neck of land, panhandle, tongue). (various references) | |
Thai | คอคอ". (various references) | |
Turkish | yarımadayı karaya bağlayan dar kara parçası, kıstak (neck), berzah. (various references) | |
Ukrainian | перешийок (neck). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Greek | 700 BCE-300 CE | isthmos. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "isthmus": isthmuses. (additional references) | |
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"Isthmus" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: etzmuss, icthus, ismus, isthmas, isthmous, isthums, isthumus, ithmus, Riothamus. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "isthmus" (pronounced i"smus) |
| 3 | -m u s | animus, anonymous, autonomous, blasphemous, dermis, enormous, epidermis, famous, grimace, hippopotamus, humus, ignoramus, infamous, litmus, magnanimous, mandamus, monogamous, polygamous, posthumous, premise, primus, promise, pumice, ramus, Shamas, shamus, synonymous, thalamus, thermos, unanimous, venomous. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "h-i-m-s-s-t-u" | |
-1 letter: musths, smiths. | |
-2 letters: hists, mists, musth, musts, shims, shist, shuts, situs, smith, smuts, stums, suits, sushi. | |
-3 letters: hiss, hist, hits, hums, huts, isms, miss, mist, mush, muss, must, muts, shim, shut, sims, sith, sits, smit, smut, stum, suit, sums, this, thus, tuis, tush. | |
-4 letters: him, his, hit, hum, hut, ism, its, mis, mus, mut. | |
| Words containing the letters "h-i-m-s-s-t-u" | |
+1 letter: bismuths, mushiest. | |
+2 letters: gunsmiths, hirsutism, humanists, humorists, isthmuses, mistruths. | |
+3 letters: enthusiasm, euphemists, hirsutisms, mistouches, mustachios, smutchiest, tunesmiths. | |
+4 letters: enthusiasms, euhemerists, hucksterism, humidistats, imposthumes, moustachios, punishments, rheumatisms. | |
+5 letters: gunsmithings, hucksterisms, mirthfulness, muttonfishes, nourishments. | |
| 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: Commercial 4. Images: Slideshow | 5. Images: Photo Album 6. Quotations: Familiar 7. Quotations: Non-fiction 8. Quotations: Speeches | 9. Usage Frequency 10. Expressions 11. Expressions: Internet 12. Translations: Modern | 13. Translations: Ancient 14. Derivations 15. Rhymes 16. Anagrams | 17. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
