Red Sea

American  

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).

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Red Sea British  

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)

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Red Sea Cultural  

1. Narrow sea between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.

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Discover More

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.

Etymology

Origin of Red Sea

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

For the former, the U.S. deployed six aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea.

From The Wall Street Journal

Two other destroyers have been seen in the eastern Mediterranean near the Souda Bay US base, and one more in the Red Sea.

From BBC

By 2018, Core’s reputation was such that a team of consultants hired by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to help develop two luxury islands in the Red Sea visited for inspiration, the files show.

From The Wall Street Journal

The mayor of Suakin dreams of a rebirth for his town, an ancient Red Sea port spared by the wars that have marked Sudan's history but reduced to ruins by the ravages of time.

From Barron's

OceanXplorer trips have generated dozens of scientific papers, on everything from deep-sea shark behaviour in the Red Sea to whales and dolphins off Indonesia.

From Barron's