ocean English · revision 3875

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1290|origins=grc ὠκεανός}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈəʊ.ʃən/, US /ˈoʊ.ʃən/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|occean]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) [[bor|fro|occean|t=ocean]] (modern French océan),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la|ōceanus]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[grc|ὠκεανός|tr=ōkeanós|t=the great river or sea surrounding the disk of the earth]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) a word of unknown origin, which Beekes suggests is Pre-Greek.^(Etymonline) It was personified as Oceanus, son of Uranus and Gaia and husband of Tethys.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) It is related to [[oceanic]].^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The vast body of water on the surface of the globe: about 1290 in the OED,^(OED 1989) about 1300 in Etymonline and Barnhart.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) At first it was the proper name of the great outer sea around the land mass of the Eastern Hemisphere.^(Hoad 1986)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ When the only known lands were Europe, Asia and Africa, the ocean was an endless river flowing around them, contrasted with inland seas such as the Mediterranean.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) Until about 1650 it was commonly ''ocean sea'', translating Latin mare oceanum.^(Etymonline) It was applied to individual bodies of water from the 14th century (''occean Atlantyke'', 1387),^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and occasionally to smaller ones, such as the ''German Ocean'', the North Sea.^(Etymonline) An immense expanse of anything, as ''oceans of time'', is from 1590.^(OED 1989) Johnson noted the adjectival use, “pertaining to the main or great sea”, as unusual.^(Johnson 1755)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1290 – the great sea.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1387 – a named ocean, the Atlantic.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1590 – a vast expanse of anything.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1650 – ''ocean sea'' goes out of common use.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1656 – ''oceanic''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The whole body of salt water covering most of the Earth's surface.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Any of its principal divisions, such as the [[Atlantic]] or [[Pacific]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A great expanse or amount: ''an ocean of grass''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[oceanlike]]

+ * [[interocean]]

+ * [[oceanarium]]

+ * [[oceanaut]]

+ * [[oceanfront]]

+ * [[oceangoing]]

+ * [[oceanology]]

+ * [[oceanside]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[oceanic]]

+ * [[oceanography]]

+ * [[Oceania]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}