sargasso

[sahr-gas-oh]

noun, plural sar·gas·sos.

a gulfweed.

Nearby words

Origin of sargasso

1590–1600; < Portuguese, perhaps special use of sargaço rockrose < Latin salicastrum, equivalent to salic- (stem of salix) willow + -astrum, neuter of -aster -aster¹

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

Examples from the Web for sargasso

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is hovering near 14,000, and global bond markets are as calm as the Sargasso Sea.
Why Do Banks Get Away With Murder?|Daniel Gross|February 7, 2013|DAILY BEAST
She may drift into the Sargasso Sea of daytime television, where she can chat up B-list celebrities.
Arrivederci, Sarah!|Joe McGinniss|October 6, 2011|DAILY BEAST
The sun swung slowly down into the western sea, and its reflections made long blinding streaks in the Sargasso.
The Cruise of the Dry Dock|T. S. Stribling
The days slipped rapidly away, until we entered the Sargasso Sea, that strange vortex in the middle of the Atlantic.
The Log of a Sea-Waif|Frank T. Bullen

The Sargasso Sea is bounded, roughly, by the lines of 20-35 N. lat.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 8|Various
An amazing amount of fiction and nonsense has been written about the sargasso weed, but the truth is actually more unbelievable.
Jungle Peace|William Beebe
Never had the Sargasso appeared so vast, so empty, so brilliant, so hot.
The Cruise of the Dry Dock|T. S. Stribling

British Dictionary definitions for sargasso

sargasso

sargasso weed

noun plural -sos

another name for gulfweed, sargassum

Word Origin for sargasso

C16: from Portuguese sargaço, of unknown origin

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 sargasso

sargasso

"seaweed," 1590s, from Portuguese sargasso "seaweed," perhaps from sarga, a type of grape (on this theory, the sea plant was so called from its berry-like air sacs), or from Latin sargus, a kind of fish found in the Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic, from Greek sargos. Sargasso Sea attested from 1819.