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Webster 1913 Edition

Sea

Sea

(sē)
,
Noun.
[OE.
see
, AS.
sǣ
; akin to D.
zee
, OS. & OHG.
sēo
, G.
see
, OFries.
se
, Dan.
sö
, Sw.
sjö
, Icel.
saer
, Goth.
saiws
, and perhaps to L.
saevus
fierce, savage. √151a.]
1.
One of the larger bodies of salt water, less than an ocean, found on the earth’s surface; a body of salt water of second rank, generally forming part of, or connecting with, an ocean or a larger sea;
as, the Mediterranean
Sea
; the
Sea
of Marmora; the North
Sea
; the Carribean
Sea
.
2.
An inland body of water, esp. if large or if salt or brackish;
as, the Caspian
Sea
;
the Sea
of Aral
; sometimes, a small fresh-water lake;
as, the
Sea
of Galilee
.
3.
The ocean; the whole body of the salt water which covers a large part of the globe.
I marvel how the fishes live in the
sea
.
Shakespeare
Ambiguous between
sea
and land
The river horse and scaly crocodile.
Milton.
4.
The swell of the ocean or other body of water in a high wind; motion or agitation of the water's surface; also, a single wave; a billow;
as, there was a high
sea
after the storm; the vessel shipped a
sea
.
5.
(Jewish Antiq.)
A great brazen laver in the temple at Jerusalem; – so called from its size.
He made a molten
sea
of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and five cubits the height thereof.
2 Chron. iv. 2.
6.
Fig.: Anything resembling the sea in vastness;
as, a
sea
of glory
.
Shak.
All the space . . . was one
sea
of heads.
Macaulay.
☞ Sea is often used in the composition of words of obvious signification; as, sea-bathed, sea-beaten, sea-bound, sea-bred, sea-circled, sealike, sea-nursed, sea-tossed, sea-walled, sea-worn, and the like. It is also used either adjectively or in combination with substantives; as, sea bird, sea-bird, or seabird, sea acorn, or sea-acorn.
At sea
,
upon the ocean; away from land; figuratively, without landmarks for guidance; lost; at the mercy of circumstances.
“To say the old man was at sea would be too feeble an expression.”
G. W. Cable
–
At full sea
at the height of flood tide; hence, at the height.
“But now God's mercy was at full sea.”
Jer. Taylor.
–
Beyond seas
, or
Beyond the sea
or
Beyond the seas
(Law)
,
out of the state, territory, realm, or country.
Wharton.
–
Half seas over
,
half drunk.
[Colloq.]
Spectator.
–
Heavy sea
,
a sea in which the waves run high.
–
Long sea
,
a sea characterized by the uniform and steady motion of long and extensive waves.
–
Short sea
,
a sea in which the waves are short, broken, and irregular, so as to produce a tumbling or jerking motion.
–
To go to sea
,
to adopt the calling or occupation of a sailor.

Webster 1828 Edition

Sea

SEA

,
Noun.
see.
[This word, like lake, signifies primarily a seat, set or lay, a repository, a bason.]
1. A large bason, cisternor laver which Solomon made in the temple, so large as to contain more than six thousand gallons. This was called the brazen sea, and used to hold water for the priests to wash themselves. 1 Kings 7. 2 Chron. 4
2. A large body of water, nearly inclosed by land, as the Baltic or the Mediterranean; as the sea of Azof. Seas are properly branches of the ocean, and upon the same level. Large bodies of water inland, and situated above the level of the ocean, are lakes. The appellation of sea, given to the Caspian lake, is an exception, and not very correct. So the lake of Galilee is called a sea, from the Greek.
3. The ocean; as, to go to sea. The fleet is at sea, or on the high seas.
4. A wave; a billow; a surge. The vessel shipped a sea.
5. The swell of the ocean in a tempest, or the direction of the waves; as, we head the sea.
6. Proverbially, a large quantity of liquor; as a sea of blood.
7. A rough or agitated place or element.
In a troubled sea of passion tost. Milton.

Definition 2024

sea

sea

See also: SEA, seâ, and se'a

English

The sea.

Noun

sea ‎(countable and uncountable, plural seas)

  1. (countable, uncountable) A large body of salty water. (Major seas are known as oceans.)
  2. (countable, archaic) A large lake.
    "The Sea of Galilee."
  3. (figuratively) A large number or quantity; a vast amount.
    A sea of faces stared back at the singer.
    With no power for the electric lights, the house was a sea of darkness.
    • 2013 April 9, Andrei Lankov, “Stay Cool. Call North Korea’s Bluff.”, in New York Times:
      In the last two decades, North Korea has on various occasions conducted highly provocative missile and nuclear tests and promised to turn Seoul into a sea of fire.
  4. A heavy wave.
  5. (planetology) A large, dark plain of rock; a mare.
    The Apollo 11 mission landed in the Sea of Tranquility.‎
  6. (planetology) A very large lake of liquid hydrocarbon

Synonyms

  • the ogin (UK, nautical and navy)

Derived terms

Translations

body of water

See also

References

  1. ↑ Vladimir Orel, A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, s.v. "saiwiz" (Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2003), 314.
  2. ↑ Kroonen, Guus (2013) Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11), Leiden, Boston: Brill

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: party · sight · electronic · #456: sea · necessary · idea · reached

Anagrams

Irish

Etymology

From is + ea (literally, it is so)

Contraction

sea

  1. yes

Usage notes

This is a contraction of an affirmative response to a question, and is found in response to a question with no main verb:

Q: An féidir leat cuidiú liom? — "Can you help me?" (literally, "Possible for you to help me?")
A: Sea. — "Yes."

Informally it may also be found as the answer to a question with a main verb, though this is considered incorrect. The standard response to such a question is to repeat the verb:

Q: Ar chuala tú mé? — "Did you hear me?"
A: Chuala. — "Yes" (literally, "Heard") or informally Sea.

Antonyms

Old Irish

Determiner

sea

  1. Alternative spelling of so

Old Swedish

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old Norse sjá, from Proto-Germanic *sehwaną.

Verb

sēa

  1. to see

Conjugation

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Conjugation of sēa (strong)
present past
infinitive sēa —
participle sēandi, -e sēþer
active voice indicative subjunctive imperative indicative subjunctive
iæk sēr sē — sā sāghi, -e
þū sēr sē sē sāt sāghi, -e
han sēr sē — sā sāghi, -e
vīr sēum, -om sēum, -om sēum, -om sāghum, -om sāghum, -om
īr sēn sēn sēn sāghin sāghin
þēr sēa sēn — sāghu, -o sāghin
mediopassive voice indicative subjunctive imperative indicative subjunctive
iæk sēs sēs — sās sāghis, -es
þū sēs sēs — sāts sāghis, -es
han sēs sēs — sās sāghis, -es
vīr sēums, -oms sēums, -oms — sāghums, -oms sāghums, -oms
īr sēns sēns — sāghins sāghins
þēr sēas sēns — sāghus, -os sāghins

Descendants

Spanish

Verb

sea

  1. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of ser.
  2. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of ser.
  3. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted?) present subjunctive form of ser.
  4. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of ser.

See also

  • maldita sea

Etymology

From Middle English see, from Old English sǣ ‎(“sea, lake”), from Proto-Germanic *saiwiz (compare West Frisian see, Dutch zee, German See, Swedish sjö), probably either from Proto-Indo-European *sh₂ei-u̯o- 'to be fierce, afflict' (compare Latin saevus ‎(“wild, fierce”), Tocharian saiwe ‎(“itch”), Latvian sievs, sīvs ‎(“sharp, biting”); more at sore)[1] or derived from *sīhwaną ‎(“to percolate, filter”), in which case *saiwiz is from earlier *saigwiz, Pre-Germanic *soykʷís.[2]

Pronunciation

  • enPR: sē, IPA(key): /siː/
  • Rhymes: -iː

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