gulfweed

[guhlf-weed]

noun

1. a coarse, olive-brown, branching seaweed, Sargassum bacciferum, common in the Gulf Stream and tropical American seas, characterized by numerous berrylike air vessels.

2. any seaweed of the same genus.

gulfweed

/ ˈɡʌlfˌwiːd /

noun

1. Also called: sargasso.  sargasso weed. any brown seaweed of the genus Sargassum, esp S. bacciferum, having air bladders and forming dense floating masses in tropical Atlantic waters, esp the Gulf Stream

Word History and Origins

Origin of gulfweed¹

First recorded in 1665–75; gulf + weed ¹

Example Sentences

About the fourth day, from the upper deck or the ship's bow, I begin to see floating patches of seaweed—gulfweed or sargasso as it is called.

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This gulfweed, the swimming gulfweed or berry carrier, is the chief substance making up this immense shoal.

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The name Sargasso comes from the Spanish word sargazo, meaning gulfweed.

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Related Words

• algae