Added 9 October 2026
ocean
/ˈəʊ.ʃən/ noun
In Latin: ōceanus Wiktionary
noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about ocean at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- A large body of water constituting a principal part of the hydrosphere.
- Anything apparently limitless in quantity or volume.
Origin
Middle English *ocean, occean, occian, occyan 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”), French océan (“ocean”), Italian oceano (“ocean”).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)