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pelagic

 - 3 dictionary results

pe⋅lag⋅ic

[puh-laj-ik]
–adjective
1. of or pertaining to the open seas or oceans.
2. living or growing at or near the surface of the ocean, far from land, as certain organisms.
Compare neritic, oceanic.


Origin:
1650–60; < L pelagicus < Gk pelagikós, equiv. to pélag(os) the sea + -ikos -ic
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pe·lag·ic   (pə-lāj'ĭk)   
adj.  Of, relating to, or living in open oceans or seas rather than waters adjacent to land or inland waters: pelagic birds.

[Latin pelagicus, from Greek pelagikos, from pelagos, sea; see plāk-1 in Indo-European roots.]
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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Word Origin & History

pelagic 
"pertaining to the sea," 1656, from L. pelagicus, from Gk. pelagikos, from pelagos "sea," from PIE *p(e)lag- "to spread out" (cf. Gk. plagos "side," L. plaga "hunting net, curtain, region"), from base *pele- "spread out, flat" (see plane (1)).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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