Philippines
- 1A country in Southeast Asia whose official name is the Republic of the Philippines, with its capital in Manila.
The Philippines lies along major shipping routes in the western Pacific.
Millions of tourists visit the Philippines each year for its beaches.
Note
Here the plural-looking name is used for a single nation, and the verb follows the meaning rather than the -s: the Philippines lies along major shipping routes, not lie. The country shares its name with the island chain, and context usually decides which is meant. People and places belong to it with a simple from or in: a reformer from the Philippines, the Chocolate Hills of Bohol in the Philippines.
- 2An archipelago in Southeast Asia, made up of thousands of islands.
The Philippines comprises more than seven thousand islands of varying size.
Coral reefs surround much of the Philippines, supporting rich marine life.
Note
A name that honors a monarch. Spanish Filipinas, from Felipe, the name of a king of Spain, reached English by way of French Philippines. In English terms it breaks down as Philip + -ine + -s, and that final -s is why the word looks plural, a fitting shape for a chain of islands. It is nearly always used with the article: the Philippines.
Use it in a sentence
Write your own sentence with Philippines, and AI will tell you whether it fits and which meaning you used.
Origin
Borrowed from French Philippines, originally from Spanish Filipinas, which came from Felipe, the name of a king of Spain. By surface analysis, it breaks down as Philip + -ine + -s.