Wonderland

views updated May 18 2018

705. Wonderland (See also Heaven, Paradise, Utopia.)

  1. Annwn land of joy and beauty without disease or death. [Welsh Lit.: Mabinogion ]
  2. Atlantis fabulous and prosperous island; legendarily in Atlantic Ocean. [Gk. Myth.: Leach, 89]
  3. Avalon island where dead King Arthur was carried. [Arth. Legend and Br. Lit.: Le Morte dArthur; Idylls of the King; The Once and Future King ]
  4. Istakhar, mountains of lair of Eblis; beautiful treasure land. [Br. Lit.: Vathek ]
  5. Middle-earth an old-fashioned name for world: scene of J. R. R. Tolkiens fantasies. [Br. Lit.: The Hobbit; The Lord of the Rings ]
  6. Munchkinland domain of little people in Oz. [Am. Lit.: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ]
  7. Narnia scene of fantasies by C. S. Lewis. [Br. Lit.: Prince Caspian ]
  8. Never Never Land magic land of lost boys and Indians. [Br. Lit.: Peter Pan ]
  9. Oz fabulous kingdom over the rainbow. [Am. Lit.: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ]
  10. Xanadu site of Kubla Khans pleasure dome. [Br. Lit.: Kubla Khan in Benét, 555]

wonderland

views updated Jun 11 2018

won·der·land / ˈwəndərˌland/ • n. a land or place full of wonderful things: London was a wonderland of historical sites, museums, theaters, shops, and entertainment.

wonderland

views updated May 18 2018

wonderland a land or place full of wonderful things, a fairyland; the term is recorded from the late 18th century, but is most frequently used with reference to the country which Alice found down a rabbit-hole in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865).