Tethys

American  

[tee-this] / ˈti θɪs /

noun

1. Classical Mythology. a Titan, a daughter of Uranus and Gaia, the wife of Oceanus and mother of the Oceanids and river gods.

2. Astronomy. one of the moons of Saturn.

3. Geology. the Mesozoic ocean or seaway of which the Mediterranean Sea is a greatly shrunken remnant.

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Tethys ¹ British  

/ ˈtiːθɪs, ˈtɛθ- /

noun

1. Greek myth a Titaness and sea goddess, wife of Oceanus

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Tethys ² British  

/ ˈtiːθɪs, ˈtɛθ- /

noun

1. a large satellite of the planet Saturn

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Tethys ³ British  

/ ˈtɛθ-, ˈtiːθɪs /

noun

1. the sea that lay between Laurasia and Gondwanaland, the two supercontinents formed by the first split of the larger supercontinent Pangaea. The Tethys Sea can be regarded as the predecessor of today's smaller Mediterranean See also Pangaea

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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

"We analyzed a compilation of thermal history models in function of plate-tectonic models for the Tethys Ocean evolution, as well as deep-time precipitation and mantle-convection models."

From Science Daily • May 18, 2026

The species, described in a paper in the journal Communications Biology, inhabited the Tethys Sea, the tropical precursor of the Mediterranean, which covered about a third of what is now northern Africa.

From New York Times • Sep. 25, 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

Protathlitis roamed a coastal region along the Tethys Sea, an ocean whose remnants include the Mediterranean Sea.

From Reuters • May 18, 2023

The Titans Ocean and Tethys brought her up.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton