Oceania

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˌəʊ.ʃiˈɑːn.(iː.)É™/
• US IPA: /ËŒoʊʃiˈæn(i)É™/
• Rhymes: -eɪniÉ™

Origin

From French Océanie, coined circa 1812 by geographer Conrad Malte-Brun, from the Ancient Greek Ὠκεανός (Ōkeanos, "Oceanus")

Full definition of Oceania

Proper noun

1. A geographical region composed of many islands (Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia) plus Australasia. It is located between Asia, Antarctica and the Americas.

Usage notes

Despite the fact that Oceania is technically not a continent, some people use the term when referring to the continents of the world in place of the Australian continent, mostly because several Oceanian countries are located in the Pacific Ocean and would otherwise be unable to be classified within a continent unless grouped in with Australia.

Oceania contains the following countries:

Territories in Oceania belonging to other countries include:

Related terms

• Oceanic
• Oceanian
• ocean