island vs isle

island

noun
  • A contiguous area of land, smaller than a continent, partially surrounded by water; A peninsula; A half-island. 

  • A contiguous area of land, smaller than a continent, totally surrounded by water. 

  • A roundabout; A traffic circle. 

  • A bench, counter, etc., that is not connected to a wall or other furniture and which can be used from any side. 

  • A superstructure on an aircraft carrier's deck. 

  • An entity surrounded by other entities that are very different from itself. 

  • A traffic island. 

  • A phrase from which a wh-word cannot be extracted without yielding invalid grammar. 

  • An unincorporated area wholly surrounded by one or more incorporated areas. 

verb
  • To surround with water; make into an island. 

  • To set, dot (as if) with islands. 

  • To isolate. 

isle

noun
  • A (small) island, compare with islet. 

How often have the words island and isle occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )