Scandinavia

/skan'deuh nay"vee euh/, n.

1. Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and sometimes Finland, Iceland, and the Faeroe Islands.

2. Also called Scandinavian Peninsula. the peninsula consisting of Norway and Sweden.

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Region of northern Europe, usually defined as comprising Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.

It is sometimes used more broadly to include Finland and Iceland. Norway and Sweden occupy the Scandinavian Peninsula, though Denmark is part of the North European Plain. The Scandinavian peoples are linked by cultural similarities, and they speak a closely related group of Germanic languages.

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▪ region, Northern Europe

historically  Scandia 

 part of northern Europe, generally held to consist of the two countries of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Norway and Sweden, with the addition of Denmark. Some authorities argue for the inclusion of Finland on geologic and economic grounds and of Iceland and the Faroe Islands on the grounds that their inhabitants speak North Germanic (or Scandinavian) languages related to those of Norway and Sweden.

      The term Norden has also come into use to denote Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, a group of countries having affinities with one another and a distinctness from the rest of continental Europe. Among their distinguishing characteristics are thinly populated northern regions, a relative wealth of fish resources, long life expectancies, and high levels of literacy.

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