pelagic

C2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /pəˈlædʒɪk/ UK /pəˈlædʒɪk/ See IPA manual

Freq #128196

Meanings

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

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.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · living, occurring, or... oceanicopen-ocean

2 noun · an organism that lives in... open-water organism

More open-water

Opposites

benthicneritic

Word family

Derived forms pelagicallyepipelagicmesopelagicbathypelagic

Related forms pelagic zoneoceanplanktonbenthicneritic

Etymology

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.

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# pelagic

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** adj, noun
**IPA (US):** /pəˈlædʒɪk/
**IPA (UK):** /pəˈlædʒɪk/
**Frequency rank:** 128196

## Meanings
1. living, occurring, or carried in the open sea away from the coast or seabed
2. an organism that lives in the open-water part of a sea or lake

## Examples
- The survey recorded pelagic animals several kilometers from the nearest shore.
- The plankton net captured several tiny pelagics far from shore.

## Synonyms
- oceanic
- open-ocean
- open-water

## Antonyms
- benthic
- neritic

## Derived Forms
- pelagically
- epipelagic
- mesopelagic
- bathypelagic

## Related Forms
- pelagic zone
- ocean
- plankton
- benthic
- neritic

## Etymology
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.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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