pelagic
adjective
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Pelagic comes to us from Greek, via Latin. The Greek word pelagikos became pelagicus in Latin and then pelagic in English. (Pelagikos is derived from pelagos, the Greek word for the sea—it is also a source of archipelago—plus the adjectival suffix -ikos.) Pelagic first showed up in dictionaries in 1656; a definition from that time says that Pelagick (as it was then spelled) meant "of the Sea, or that liveth in the Sea." Centuries later, writers are still using pelagic with the same meaning, albeit less frequently than its more familiar synonym oceanic.
Examples of pelagic in a Sentence
Melissa Cristina Marquez, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024
The state’s shores offer temperate-weather hiking with views of dramatic cliffs, crashing waves, pelagic birds such as the blue-footed booby and several species of sandpiper, and native wildflowers.
—Dakota Kim, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2024
The northern equatorial upwelling front, which brings cold-nutrient rich waters to the surface, combined with the tropical sun is the perfect recipe for ocean productivity that sustains ocean pelagic food webs.
—Melissa Cristina Marquez, Forbes, 22 Sep. 2024
Instead, target these abundant and hungry pelagic fish by trolling in areas with clear water, and focus on floating structure like sargassum and kelp paddies, oil rigs, and even floating ocean debris.
—Joe Cermele, Outdoor Life, 19 Sep. 2024
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Dictionary Entries Near pelagic
Cite this Entry
“Pelagic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pelagic. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
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pelagic
adjective
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