Ambiguous between sea and land The river horse and scaly crocodile.
Milton.
4. The swell of the ocean or other body of water in a high wind; motion or agitation of the water's surface; also, a single wave; a billow; as, there was a high sea after the storm; the vessel shipped a sea.
5. (Jewish Antiq.) A great brazen laver in the temple at Jerusalem; -- so called from its size.
He made a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and five cubits the height thereof.
2 Chron. iv. 2.
6. Fig.: Anything resembling the sea in vastness; as, a sea of glory. Shak.
All the space . . . was one sea of heads.
Macaulay.
Sea is often used in the composition of words of obvious signification; as, sea-bathed, sea-beaten, sea-bound, sea-bred, sea-circled, sealike, sea-nursed, sea-tossed, sea-walled, sea- worn, and the like. It is also used either adjectively or in combination with substantives; as, sea bird, sea-bird, or seabird, sea acorn, or sea-acorn.
At sea, upon the ocean; away from land; figuratively, without landmarks for guidance; lost; at the mercy of circumstances. "To say the old man was at sea would be too feeble an expression." G. W. Cable -- At full sea at the height of flood tide; hence, at the height. "But now God's mercy was at full sea." Jer. Taylor. -- Beyond seas, or Beyond the sea or the seas (Law), out of the state, territory, realm, or country. Wharton. -- Half seas over, half drunk. [Colloq.] Spectator. -- Heavy sea, a sea in which the waves run high. -- Long sea, a sea characterized by the uniform and steady motion of long and extensive waves. -- Short sea, a sea in which the waves are short, broken, and irregular, so as to produce a tumbling or jerking motion. -- To go to sea, to adopt the calling or occupation of a sailor.
Sea" a"corn (?). (Zoöl.) An acorn barnacle (Balanus).
Sea" ad"der (?). (Zoöl.) (a) The European fifteen-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus spinachia); -- called also bismore. (b) The European tanglefish, or pipefish (Syngnathus acus).
Sea" an"chor (?). (Naut.) See Drag sail, under 4th Drag.
Sea" a*nem"o*ne (?). (Zoöl.) Any one of numerous species of soft-bodied Anthozoa, belonging to the order Actinaria; an actinian.
They have the oral disk surrounded by one or more circles of simple tapering tentacles, which are often very numerous, and when expanded somewhat resemble the petals of flowers, with colors varied and often very beautiful.
Sea" ape` (?). (Zoöl.) (a) The thrasher shark. (b) The sea otter.
Sea" ap"ple (?). (Bot.) The fruit of a West Indian palm (Manicaria Plukenetii), often found floating in the sea. A. Grisebach.
Sea" ar"row (?). (Zoöl.) A squid of the genus Ommastrephes. See Squid.
Sea" bank` (?). 1. The seashore. Shak.
2. A bank or mole to defend against the sea.
Sea"-bar` (?), n. (Zoöl.) A tern.
Sea" bar"row (?). (Zoöl.) A sea purse.
Sea" bass`. (&?;). (Zoöl.) (a) A large marine food fish (Serranus, or Centropristis, atrarius) which abounds on the Atlantic coast of the United States. It is dark bluish, with black bands, and more or less varied with small white spots and blotches. Called also, locally, blue bass, black sea bass, blackfish, bluefish, and black perch. (b) A California food fish (Cynoscion nobile); -- called also white sea bass, and sea salmon.
Sea" bat` (?). (Zoöl.) See Batfish (a).
Sea"beach` (?), n. A beach lying along the sea. "The bleak seabeach." Longfellow.
Sea" bean (?). (Bot.) Same as Florida bean.
Sea" bear` (?). (Zoöl.) (a) Any fur seal. See under Fur. (b) The white bear.
The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary: Section S · The Wunder Library — complete classics, free to read, with narration.