IcelandIce·land (?s?l?nd) An island country in the North Atlantic near the Arctic Circle. Norse settlers arrived c. 850-875, and Christianity was introduced c. 1000. Iceland passed to Norway in 1262 and, with Norway, to Denmark in 1380. In 1918 it became a sovereign state still nominally under the Danish king, until Icelanders voted for full independence in 1944. Reykjavík is the capital and the largest city.Ice?land·er n.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.Iceland (?a?sl?nd) n (Placename) an island republic in the N Atlantic, regarded as part of Europe: settled by Norsemen, who established a legislative assembly in 930; under Danish rule (1380?1918); gained independence in 1918 and became a republic in 1944; contains large areas of glaciers, snowfields, and lava beds with many volcanoes and hot springs (the chief source of domestic heat); inhabited chiefly along the SW coast. The economy is based largely on fishing and tourism. Official language: Icelandic. Official religion: Evangelical Lutheran. Currency: króna. Capital: Reykjavik. Pop: 315 281 (2013 est). Area: 102 828 sq km (39 702 sq miles)Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014Ice?land (?a?s l?nd) n. 1. a large island in the N Atlantic between Greenland and Scandinavia. 39,698 sq. mi. (102,820 sq. km). 2. a republic including this island and several smaller islands: formerly Danish; independent since 1944. 272,512. Cap.: Reykjavik. Ice?land`er (-?læn d?r, -l?n d?r) n. Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.