pelagic
adjective
Did you know?
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
Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 27 Apr. 2025
However, recent oceanographic expeditions have begun peeling back the layers of this mystery, demonstrating that the White Shark Café harbors a hidden web of life and fundamentally reshapes our understanding of pelagic shark behavior.
—Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 26 Apr. 2025
The usual hue of the living version is greenish-brown, according to John Ugoretz, pelagic fisheries and ecosystem program manager for the department.
—Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 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
See All Example Sentences for pelagic
Cite this Entry
“Pelagic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pelagic. Accessed 28 May. 2025.
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pelagic
adjective
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