Advertisement

West Indies

Caribbean islands explored by Columbus, 1550s, reflecting the belief (or hope) that they were western outliers of the Indies of Asia. Related: West Indian, which is from 1580s in reference to the native inhabitants, 1650s in reference to European settlers there, and 1928 in reference to people of West Indian ancestry.

Others are reading

Advertisement
Definitions of West Indies from WordNet

West Indies (n.)
the string of islands between North America and South America; a popular resort area;
Synonyms: the Indies
From wordnet.princeton.edu