sargasso

noun

sar·​gas·​so sär-ˈga-(ˌ)sō How to pronounce sargasso (audio)
plural sargassos
1
2
: a mass of floating vegetation and especially sargassums

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Like the rest of the Caribbean, Tulum sometimes suffers from the scourge of sargasso seaweed. Jamie Ditaranto, Travel + Leisure, 5 Aug. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sargasso.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Portuguese sargaço, apparently the same word as sargaço, sargaça "the flowering plant Halimium lasianthum, related to the rockrose," of uncertain origin

Note: Traced by Coromines (Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico) along with Spanish jaguarzo to a putative Mozarabic *xaugaçro, going back to Latin salicastrum, a plant of uncertain identity named by Pliny.

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of sargasso was in 1598

Dictionary Entries Near sargasso

Cite this Entry

“Sargasso.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sargasso. Accessed 21 Mar. 2023.

Kids Definition

sargasso

noun
sar·​gas·​so sär-ˈgas-ō How to pronounce sargasso (audio)
plural sargassos
1
2
: a mass of floating plants and especially sargassums
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