Tethys
Americannoun
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Classical Mythology. a Titan, a daughter of Uranus and Gaia, the wife of Oceanus and mother of the Oceanids and river gods.
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Astronomy. one of the moons of Saturn.
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Geology. the Mesozoic ocean or seaway of which the Mediterranean Sea is a greatly shrunken remnant.
noun
noun
noun
Etymology
Origin of Tethys
From Latin Tēthys, from Greek Tēthýs; further origin uncertain; Tethys def. 1 was first recorded in 1700–10; Tethys def. 2 in 1845–50; and Tethys def. 3 in 1890–95
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A new study from Adelaide University suggests that the ancient Tethys Ocean played a major role in shaping Central Asia's landscape during the Cretaceous period, long before the rise of the Himalayas.
From Science Daily ● May 18, 2026
But in the Mesozoic Era, it was a tropical shoreline along the Tethys Ocean, inhabited by dinosaurs and marine creatures.
From New York Times ● Aug. 19, 2023
As the planet's tectonic plates shifted over molten rock 140 million years ago, and as India's land mass collided with the Asian continent, a previously-existing ancient ocean known as Tethys could have disappeared.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2023
Back then, the southern supercontinent of Gondwana was in the process of disbanding, and the ancient Tethys Sea reached from the Pacific Ocean to the Mediterranean.
From Scientific American ● Mar. 14, 2023
The sea-gods received him kindly and called on Ocean and Tethys to purge his mortal nature away and make him one of them.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
