Pohnpei

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A volcanic island in the western Pacific Ocean that forms part of the Federated States of Micronesia
2. An island in Micronesia in the western Pacific, lying within the Federated States of Micronesia and known for its rainfall
3. The high volcanic island of Pohnpei, located in the western Pacific and belonging to the Federated States of Micronesia

Etymology: Pohnpei is the name of a volcanic island in the Federated States of Micronesia, and the name itself is a compact description of the place. It comes from the Pohnpeian language, where "pohn" means "on top of" and "pehi" means an altar, a stone structure, or a rock pile. Put together, the name means something like "on the stone altar," a reference to the ancient stone ruins that still stand on the island, most famously at Nan Madol, the massive complex of artificial islets built from basalt columns. English took the name directly from Pohnpeian rather than through an earlier European form, so the word preserves the local language's own description of the island. Its ultimate roots reach back to Proto-Micronesian, the common ancestor of the languages spoken across the region, which is why the word's components can be traced through several linguistic stages before reaching the modern island name.