Falkland Islands(noun)

a group of over 100 islands in the southern Atlantic off the coast of Argentina; a British Crown Colony

Falkland Islands(ProperNoun)

Overseas territory of the United Kingdom, located in the South Atlantic. Official name: Falkland Islands. Argentina contests the British sovereignty in the islands.

Falkland Islands

a group of islands in the S. Atlantic, 240 m. E. of Tierra del Fuego; discovered in 1592 by Davis; purchased from the French in 1764 by Spain, but afterwards ceded to Britain, by whom they were occupied in 1833 and used as a convict settlement until 1852; besides E. and W. Falkland there are upwards of 100 small islands, mostly barren; wheat and flax are raised, but sheep-farming is the main industry.

Falkland Islands

A British colony in the Atlantic Islands, comprising two principal islands, East Falkland and West Falkland. Its capital is Stanley. Discovered in 1592, it was not occupied until the French settled there briefly in 1764. Later the English settled there but were expelled by the Spanish in 1770. The Falklands were claimed by Argentina but were occupied in 1833 by the British who, after an April 1982 invasion by Argentina, regained them in June. The islands were named by British Captain John Strong in 1690 for the fifth Viscount Falkland who financed Strong's expedition. The Spanish name for the islands, Malvinas, is from the French Malouins, inhabitants of St. Malo who attempted to colonize the islands in 1764. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p389 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p182)