pelagic

[puh-laj-ik]

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adjective

of or relating to the open seas or oceans.

living or growing at or near the surface of the ocean, far from land, as certain organisms.

RELATED WORDS

aquatic, marine, thalassic

Compare neritic, oceanic.

Origin of pelagic

1650–60; < Latin pelagicus < Greek pelagikós, equivalent to pélag(os) the sea + -ikos -ic

Related formsnon·pe·lag·ic, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pelagic

Historical Examples of pelagic

The fishes of this family are all pelagic, and most of them are highly valued for food.
Bass, Pike, Perch, and Others
James Alexander Henshall
In their morphological characters they gradually approach the pelagic forms upwards and the abyssal downwards.
Report on the Radiolaria Collected by H.M.S. Challenger During the Years 1873-1876, First Part: Porulosa (Spumellaria and Acantharia)
Ernst Haeckel
These birds are the most pelagic of all, and only visit the land to breed.
Among the Birds in Northern Shires
Charles Dixon
This species differs from the Pelagic chiefly in having the forehead bare.
The Bird Book
Chester A. Reed
As they are pelagic, the shells are not readily to be obtained.
Sea-Weeds, Shells and Fossils
Peter Gray

British Dictionary definitions for pelagic

pelagic

adjective

of or relating to the open seapelagic whaling

(of marine life) living or occurring in the upper waters of open sea

(of geological formations) derived from material that has fallen to the bottom from the upper waters of the sea

Word Origin for pelagic

C17: from Latin pelagicus, from pelagus, from Greek pelagos sea

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 pelagic

adj.

"pertaining to the sea," 1650s, from Latin pelagicus, from Greek pelagikos, from pelagos "sea, high sea, open sea, main," from PIE *pelag- "to spread out" (cf. Greek plagos "side," Latin plaga "hunting net, curtain, region"), possibly from root *plak- (1) "to spread out, be flat" (see placenta).

Science definitions for pelagic

pelagic

[pə-lăj′ĭk]

Relating to or living in or on oceanic waters. The pelagic zone of the ocean begins at the low tide mark and includes the entire oceanic water column. The pelagic ecosystem is largely dependent on the phytoplankton inhabiting the upper, sunlit regions, where most ocean organisms live. Biodiversity decreases sharply in the unlit zones where water pressure is high, temperatures are cold, and food sources scarce. Pelagic waters are divided, in descending order, into the epipelagic, mesopelagic, bathypelagic, abyssopelagic, and hadopelagic zones.