gulf

C2+ Topic:Places & Geography

US /ˈɡʌlf/ UK /ˈɡʌlf/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like golf /ʌ/ vs /ɑ/

Meanings

1

noun
a large area of sea partly enclosed by land; a wide gap

A widening gulf grew between the two old allies.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a large area of sea partly... bay inlet abyss chasm gap rift divide void

Simplified etymology

Gulf entered late Middle English through Italian and Old French from Greek kolpos. The Greek word denoted several curved shapes, including a bosom, a fold in clothing, the trough between waves, a bay, and the depths of the sea. English acquired the “bay” and “depth” senses at the same time and later extended the word to a great division or difference between groups.

Etymology

From Old French golfe, from Italian golfo, from Late Latin colpus, from Ancient Greek kólpos ('bosom, bay, gulf, fold').

golfe Old French kólpos Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Places & Geography

External links

# gulf

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈɡʌlf/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈɡʌlf/

## Meanings
1. a large area of sea partly enclosed by land; a wide gap

## Examples
- A widening gulf grew between the two old allies.

## Synonyms
- bay
- inlet
- abyss
- chasm
- gap
- rift
- divide
- void

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: golfe
- Root: kólpos

## Etymology
From Old French golfe, from Italian golfo, from Late Latin colpus, from Ancient Greek kólpos ('bosom, bay, gulf, fold').

## AI Etymology
gulf comes from Old French golfe, from Italian golfo, from Late Latin colpus, from Ancient Greek kólpos ('bosom, bay, gulf, fold'). The path is chiefly one of transmission: the word passes through the named languages and forms, with each stage preserving part of the modern shape. In present English, the noun sense is "a large area of sea partly enclosed by land; a wide gap", so the historical development ends in a clearly identifiable modern dictionary use. Its semantic neighborhood includes bay, inlet, abyss, and chasm, which helps locate the modern sense without adding a separate etymological claim. The named historical forms include Old French golfe and Ancient Greek kólpos.

## Topics
- Places & Geography

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