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ocean - 4 dictionary results

o⋅cean

  [oh-shuhn]
Use ocean in a Sentence
–noun
1. the vast body of salt water that covers almost three fourths of the earth's surface.
2. any of the geographical divisions of this body, commonly given as the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and Antarctic oceans.
3. a vast expanse or quantity: an ocean of grass.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME ocean(e) (< OF) < L ōceanus, special use of Ōceanus Oceanus < Gk ōkeanós, Ōkeanós

Related forms:
o⋅cean⋅like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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o·cean   (ō'shən)   
n.  
  1. The entire body of salt water that covers more than 70 percent of the earth's surface.
  2. Abbr. Oc. or O. Any of the principal divisions of the ocean, including the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and Antarctic oceans.
  3. A great expanse or amount: "that ocean of land which is Russia" (Henry A. Kissinger).

[Middle English occean, from Old French, from Latin ōceanus, from Greek Ōkeanos, the god Oceanus, a great river encircling the earth.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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ocean 
c.1290, from O.Fr. occean (12c.), from L. oceanus, from Gk. okeanos, the great river or sea surrounding the disk of the Earth (as opposed to the Mediterranean), of unknown origin. Personified as Oceanus, son of Uranus and Gaia and husband of Tethys. In early times, when the only known land masses were Eurasia and Africa, the ocean was an endless river that flowed around them. Until c.1650, commonly ocean sea, translating L. mare oceanum. Application to individual bodies of water began 14c.; there are usually reckoned to be five of them, but this is arbitrary; also occasionally applied to smaller subdivisions, e.g. German Ocean "North Sea." Oceanography coined in Eng. 1859, from Gk. graphia, from graphein "to write" (about).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Language Translation for : ocean
Spanish: océano,
German: der Ozean,
Japanese: 海
More Translations »
ocean   (ō'shən)  Pronunciation Key 
  1. The continuous body of salt water that covers 72 percent of the Earth's surface. The average salinity of ocean water is approximately three percent. The deepest known area of the ocean, at 11,034 m (36,192 ft) is the Mariana Trench, located in the western Pacific Ocean.
  2. Any of the principal divisions of this body of water, including the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Arctic Oceans.

Our Living Language  : The word ocean refers to one of the Earth's four distinct, large areas of salt water, the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic Oceans. The word can also mean the entire network of water that covers almost three quarters of our planet. It comes from the Greek Okeanos, a river believed to circle the globe. The word sea can also mean the vast ocean covering most of the world. But it more commonly refers to large landlocked or almost landlocked salty waters smaller than the great oceans, such as the Mediterranean Sea or the Bering Sea. Sailors have long referred to all the world's waters as the seven seas. Although the origin of this phrase is not known for certain, many people believe it referred to the Red Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Black Sea, the Adriatic Sea, the Caspian Sea, and the Indian Ocean, which were the waters of primary interest to Europeans before Columbus.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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