Definition of the word insular

The word "insular" descends from the Latin root "insulanus," which carried the meaning of being related to an island. In medieval Latin, "insula" referred to any piece of land entirely surrounded by water, including both natural and artificial bodies of land. Initially, "insular" was employed primarily to denote places and people associated with islands, such as inhabitants of the British Isles or people living on local islands of the Mediterranean. Over time, the term's meaning broadened to include any place or thing that is isolated or disconnected from the mainland, and it came to suggest a certain degree of autonomy or independence that is sometimes associated with island communities. In modern English, "insular" continues to bear these connotations, routinely used to describe items, individuals, places, or cultures disjointed from mainstream society or cut off from the rest of the world. As such, it carries a sense of remoteness, independence, or self-sufficiency, yet it may also suggest a certain degree of introspection, isolation, or parochialism.