# Philippines

Pronunciation: US say "FIL-uh-peenz" /ˈfɪl.ə.piːnz/; UK say "FIL-i-peenz" /ˈfɪl.ɪ.piːnz/

## Proper noun

1. A country in Southeast Asia whose official name is the Republic of the Philippines, with its capital in Manila.
   - Simple: A country in Southeast Asia made up of thousands of islands, with its capital at Manila.
   - _The Philippines lies along major shipping routes in the western Pacific._
   - _Millions of tourists visit the Philippines each year for its beaches._
2. An archipelago in Southeast Asia, made up of thousands of islands.
   - Simple: A large group of islands in Southeast Asia.
   - _The Philippines comprises more than seven thousand islands of varying size._
   - _Coral reefs surround much of the Philippines, supporting rich marine life._

## 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.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/philippines (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).