pelagic

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   living, occurring, or carried in the open sea away from the coast or seabed

   The survey recorded pelagic animals several kilometers from the nearest shore.

2. 2
   noun

   an organism that lives in the open-water part of a sea or lake

   The plankton net captured several tiny pelagics far from shore.

From Latin pelagicus, from Greek pelagikos, 'of the sea,' based on pelagos, 'open sea.' Scientific English uses pelagic chiefly for organisms and processes in open water, contrasting them with benthic life on the bottom and neritic life nearer the coast.

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