GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English
last match results
Found 2 definitions
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Ocean (ōshan), n. [F. océan, L. oceanus, Gr. ὠκεανός ocean, in Homer, the great river supposed to encompass the earth.]
1. The whole body of salt water which covers more than three fifths of the surface of the globe; -- called also the sea, or great sea.
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Like the odor of brine from the ocean
Comes the thought of other years. Longfellow.
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2. One of the large bodies of water into which the great ocean is regarded as divided, as the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic and Antarctic oceans.
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3. An immense expanse; any vast space or quantity without apparent limits; as, “the boundless ocean of eternity; an ocean of affairs.” Locke.
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You're gonna need an ocean
Of calamine lotion. Lieber & Stoller (Poison Ivy: song lyrics, 1994)
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Sea (sē), n. [OE. see, AS. sǣ; akin to D. zee, OS. & OHG. sēo, G. see, OFries. se, Dan. sö, Sw. sjö, Icel. saer, Goth. saiws, and perhaps to L. saevus fierce, savage. √151a.]
1. One of the larger bodies of salt water, less than an ocean, found on the earth's surface; a body of salt water of second rank, generally forming part of, or connecting with, an ocean or a larger sea; as, “the Mediterranean Sea; the Sea of Marmora; the North Sea; the Carribean Sea”.
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2. An inland body of water, esp. if large or if salt or brackish; as, “the Caspian Sea; the Sea of Aral”; sometimes, a small fresh-water lake; as, “the Sea of Galilee”.
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3. The ocean; the whole body of the salt water which covers a large part of the globe.
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I marvel how the fishes live in the sea. Shak.
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Ambiguous between sea and land
The river horse and scaly crocodile. Milton.
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4. The swell of the ocean or other body of water in a high wind; motion or agitation of the water's surface; also, a single wave; a billow; as, “there was a high sea after the storm; the vessel shipped a sea”.
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5. (Jewish Antiq.) A great brazen laver in the temple at Jerusalem; -- so called from its size.
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He made a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and five cubits the height thereof. 2 Chron. iv. 2.
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6. Fig.: Anything resembling the sea in vastness; as, “a sea of glory”. Shak.
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All the space . . . was one sea of heads. Macaulay.
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☞ Sea is often used in the composition of words of obvious signification; as, sea-bathed, sea-beaten, sea-bound, sea-bred, sea-circled, sealike, sea-nursed, sea-tossed, sea-walled, sea-worn, and the like. It is also used either adjectively or in combination with substantives; as, sea bird, sea-bird, or seabird, sea acorn, or sea-acorn.
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At sea, upon the ocean; away from land; figuratively, without landmarks for guidance; lost; at the mercy of circumstances. “To say the old man was at sea would be too feeble an expression.” G. W. Cable -- At full sea at the height of flood tide; hence, at the height. “But now God's mercy was at full sea.” Jer. Taylor. -- Beyond seas, or Beyond the sea or Beyond the seas (Law), out of the state, territory, realm, or country. Wharton. -- Half seas over, half drunk. [Colloq.] Spectator. -- Heavy sea, a sea in which the waves run high. -- Long sea, a sea characterized by the uniform and steady motion of long and extensive waves. -- Short sea, a sea in which the waves are short, broken, and irregular, so as to produce a tumbling or jerking motion. -- To go to sea, to adopt the calling or occupation of a sailor.
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