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Northern Mariana Islands

A commonwealth in political union with the United States comprising most of the Mariana Islands (except Guam) in the western Pacific Ocean. The islands were part of the US Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands from 1947 to 1978, when they became internally self-governing. The largest island, which serves as the capital, is Saipan.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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