• Question: where does the word sea come from?

    Asked by leahwring to Clare, Dave, Glo, Ozge, Sean on 21 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Dave Sproson

      Dave Sproson answered on 16 Jun 2011:

      Right – I’ve had to look this up!

      It seems it originally come from the early Germanic-type word ‘saiwaz’, but the origin of that word is unknown.

    • Photo: Ozge Ozkaya

      Ozge Ozkaya answered on 16 Jun 2011:

      yup and aparently saiwaz means : of unknown origin, outside connections “wholly doubtful”.:)

    • Photo: Sean Clement

      Sean Clement answered on 16 Jun 2011:

      So basically, even many many years ago, people recognised the sea for the wonderfully mysterious place that it is…

    • Photo: Gloeta Massie

      Gloeta Massie answered on 17 Jun 2011:

      A, B, Sea – the alphabet! 🙂

      According the Online Etymology Dictionary:

      “O.E. sæ “sheet of water, sea, lake,” from P.Gmc. *saiwaz (cf. O.S. seo, O.Fris. se, M.Du. see), of unknown origin, outside connections “wholly doubtful” (Buck). Germanic languages also use the general IE word (represented by English mere (n.)), but have no firm distinction between “sea” and “lake,” either by size or by salt vs. fresh. This may reflect the Baltic geography where the languages are thought to have originated. The two words are used more or less interchangeably, and exist in opposite senses (e.g. Goth. saiws “lake,” marei “sea;” but Du. zee “sea,” meer “lake”). Cf. also O.N. sær “sea,” but Dan. sø, usually “lake” but “sea” in phrases. Ger. See is “sea” (fem.) or “lake” (masc.). Meaning “dark area of the moon’s surface” is attested from 1660s (see mare (2)). Phrase sea change “transformation” is attested from 1610, first in Shakespeare (“The Tempest,” I.ii). Sea anemone is from 1742; sea breeze from 1690s; sea legs is from 1712; sea level from 1806; sea serpent attested from 1640s; sea urchin from 1590s. At sea in the figurative sense of “perplexed” is attested from 1768, from lit. sense of “out of sight of land.”‘

      http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=sea

      Yeah, I don’t know what most of that means either. 🙂

    • Photo: Clare Woulds

      Clare Woulds answered on 21 Jun 2011:

      Wow guys, you have this covered!

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