Meanings
- An island of Dare County, North Carolina, United States.
"Still country and stubborn," says Betty Etheridge (right) describing her hometown of Wanchese, a small fishing village at the southern end of Roanoke Island.
1987 October, Charles E. Cobb, Jr., “North Carolina's Outer Banks”, in National Geographic, volume 172, number 4, page 503Synonyms: Roanoke
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounAn island of Dare County, North Carolina, United States.
Origin
- Powhatanrawrenock“roanoke”
- EnglishRoanoke Island
From island + Powhatan rawrenock (“roanoke”, literally “things rubbed smooth by hand”)
More words from Powhatan
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Roanoke Island. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Roanoke%20Island
“Roanoke Island.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Roanoke%20Island. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Roanoke Island,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Roanoke%20Island.
Source: Roanoke Island on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.