asia

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)
Asia
    n 1: the largest continent with 60% of the earth's population;
         it is joined to Europe on the west to form Eurasia; it is
         the site of some of the world's earliest civilizations
    2: the nations of the Asian continent collectively
    
from Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
Asia
is used to denote Proconsular Asia, a Roman province which
embraced the western parts of Asia Minor, and of which Ephesus
was the capital, in Acts 2:9; 6:9; 16:6; 19:10,22; 20:4, 16, 18,
etc., and probably Asia Minor in Acts 19:26, 27; 21:27; 24:18;
27:2. Proconsular Asia contained the seven churches of the
Apocalypse (Rev. 1:11). The "chiefs of Asia" (Acts 19:31) were
certain wealthy citizens who were annually elected to preside
over the games and religious festivals of the several cities to
which they belonged. Some of these "Asiarchs" were Paul's
friends.
    
from Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary (late 1800's)
Asia, muddy; boggy
    

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