Red Sea

noun

1. an arm of the Indian Ocean, extending northwest between Africa and Arabia: connected to the Mediterranean by the Suez Canal. 1,450 miles (2,335 kilometers) long; 170,000 square miles (440,300 square kilometers); greatest depth, 7,254 feet (2,211 meters).

Red Sea

noun

1. a long narrow sea between Arabia and NE Africa, linked with the Mediterranean in the north by the Suez Canal and with the Indian Ocean in the south: occasionally reddish in appearance through algae. Area: 438 000 sq km (169 000 sq miles)

Red Sea

1. Narrow sea between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.

According to the Bible (see also Bible), the Red Sea's waters parted to allow the Israelites, led by Moses, to escape the pursuing Egyptian army. The “Red Sea” of the biblical account, however, seems more likely to have been the marshy Sea of Reeds than the present-day Red Sea.

Probably named for the red algae that are sometimes present in its waters.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Red Sea¹

Translation of Latin Mare Rubrum, from Greek Erythrà Thálassa “Red Sea,” a translation of Hebrew Yam Sūph “Sea of Reeds.” The reason for Erythrà (Thálassa) is unknown; perhaps Erythrà refers to seasonal blooms of red algae on the on the surface of the water, or to ancient associations of “red” with “south,” (as “black” with “north,” as in “Black Sea”)

Example Sentences

Africa’s Great Green Wall is an ambitious project to counter the expansion of the Sahara Desert by planting a 5,000-mile greenbelt across the continent, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea.

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Mediators from Qatar and Egypt went between the Israeli and Palestinian negotiators who were on separate floors of a hotel in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.

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Ethiopia has accused Eritrea of preparing to wage war against it in collusion with an opposition grouping, in the latest sign of escalating tensions between the two neighbours over control of the Red Sea.

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The findings put a definitive time on a dramatic event that changed the Red Sea.

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The country in 2019 launched the Red Sea International Film Festival with this mission and has since contributed heavily to Hollywood productions and L.A.’s broader entertainment industry.

Read more on Los Angeles Times