ocean

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   The vast body of salt water that covers most of the Earth.

   We spent the whole afternoon swimming in the ocean.

2. 2
   noun

   One of the large seas that separate the continents, such as the Atlantic or Pacific.

   The Pacific is the largest ocean on Earth.

3. 3
   noun

   A huge amount of something.

   There is still an ocean of work to finish before the deadline.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Ocean is recorded in English from the Middle English period and goes back to Greek okeanos, the name of the great river that the ancient Greeks believed surrounded the world. It originally denoted the great outer sea enclosing the single known land mass of Europe and Asia, in contrast with the Mediterranean and other inland seas.

From Middle English *ocean, occean, occian, occyan, from Old French occean (later reborrowed or reinforced by Middle French ocean), from Latin Ōceanus, originally from Ancient Greek Ὠκεανός (Ōkeanós, “Oceanus”, a water deity). Displaced native Old English gārseċġ. Also commonly referred to as the ocean sea, the sea of ocean (compare Latin mare ōceanum; Old French mer oceane, occeanne mer). Compare Saterland Frisian Oceoan (“ocean”), West Frisian oseaan (“ocean”), Dutch oceaan (“ocean”), German Low German Ozeaan (“ocean”), German Ozean (“ocean”), Danish ocean (“ocean”), Swedish ocean (“ocean”),…

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary