Claim: Bahrain consists of a group of islands.

An archipelago -LRB- -LSB- ɑːrkᵻˈpɛləɡoʊ -RSB- -RRB- , sometimes called an island group or island chain , is a chain , cluster or collection of islands . The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι - -- arkhi - -LRB- `` chief '' -RRB- and πέλαγος -- pélagos -LRB- `` sea '' -RRB- through the Italian arcipelago . In Italian , possibly following a tradition of antiquity , the Archipelago -LRB- from medieval Greek * ἀρχιπέλαγος and Latin archipelagus -RRB- was the proper name for the Aegean Sea and , later , usage shifted to refer to the Aegean Islands -LRB- since the sea is remarkable for its large number of islands -RRB- . It is now used to refer to any island group or , sometimes , to a sea containing a small number of scattered islands .