gulf
[guhlf]
- a portion of an ocean or sea partly enclosed by land.
- a deep hollow; chasm or abyss.
- any wide separation, as in position, status, or education.
- something that engulfs or swallows up.
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- to swallow up; engulf.
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Origin of gulf
1300–50; Middle English go(u)lf < Old French golfe < Italian golfo < Late Greek kólphos, Greek kólpos bosom, lap, bay
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
soundharborcovebaybayoubightsloughbasinwhirlpoolfirthcrevassehiatushollowrentchasmpitabysscavitycavesplitExamples from the Web for gulf
Contemporary Examples
The outlets giving these pronouncements the most airtime are Arabic news stations in the Gulf.
But The Pinkprint gives little consideration to the gulf between her various musical selves.
Sadly, laws throughout the Middle East—from North Africa to the Gulf—limit the rights of religious minorities and non-believers.
In the south, the Gulf States view their Persian nuclear neighbor as a permanent archenemy.
A sign that the Gulf States and/or Turkey told the White House they were getting out if the footsie continued?
Historical Examples
Settlements have been established on the shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Explorations in AustraliaJohn Forrest
The gulf which separates parents and children is one which the parents must cross.
The Conquest of FearBasil King
As a matter of fact, we dig a gulf between the material and the spiritual which does not exist.
The Conquest of FearBasil King
She passed listlessly out, and down the path toward the gulf.
In the ValleyHarold Frederic
For her sake—for your Fanny's sake—pause, like me, before the gulf swallow us.
Night and Morning, CompleteEdward Bulwer-Lytton
gulf
- a large deep bay
- a deep chasm
- something that divides or separates, such as a lack of understanding
- something that engulfs, such as a whirlpool
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- (tr) to swallow up; engulf
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Word Origin
C14: from Old French golfe, from Italian golfo, from Greek kolpos
Gulf
- the Persian Gulf
- Australian
- the Gulf of Carpentaria
- (modifier)of, relating to, or adjoining the GulfGulf country
- NZ the Hauraki Gulf
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for gulf
n.
late 14c., "profound depth;" geographic sense is c.1400; from Old French golf "a gulf, whirlpool," from Italian golfo "a gulf, a bay," from Late Latin colfos, from Greek kolpos "bay, gulf," earlier "trough between waves, fold of a garment," originally "bosom," the common notion being "curved shape," from PIE *kwelp- "to arch, to vault" (cf. Old English hwealf, a-hwielfan "to overwhelm"). Latin sinus underwent the same development, being used first for "bosom," later for "gulf." Replaced Old English sæ-earm. Figurative sense of "a wide interval" is from 1550s. The Gulf Stream (1775) takes its name from the Gulf of Mexico.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
gulf
[gŭlf]
- A large body of ocean or sea water that is partly surrounded by land.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.