Bering Sea
10
4.1
- proper noun
- /ˈbɛrɪŋ si/
- The Pribilof Islands of Alaska in the Bering Sea consist of five islands: St. Paul, St. George, Walrus, Otter, and Sea Lion Rock.
- Bering Sea-Aleutian Islands
- Bering Sea-Aleutian
Examples
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The Pribilofs are part of a remote volcanic archipelago, located in the Bering Sea, with the nearest landfall being western Alaska and the Aleutian Islands approximately 300 miles in either direction.
Academic text (2004) -
The primary rookeries (breeding sites) are on the Pribilof Islands and the Commander Islands in the Bering Sea.
Academic text (2004) -
There was a place on the Bering Sea.
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It's right on the Bering Sea.
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Except this one is on an island in the middle of the Bering Sea.
Fiction book (2002) -
The Bering Sea has many faces.
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According to our radar, you're headed west over the Bering Sea.
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Case in point, this vessel's trapped in pancake ice in the Bering Sea.
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It is a typical summer day in the southern Bering Sea, which means a healthy chop and a stiff cold breeze.
Fiction book (2002) -
The fishermen set out early in the morning on the Bering Sea to catch fresh crab.
Surface Forms
Morphology
Bering + sea
The noun 'sea' transparently signals a body of water, so a learner who knows the constituents will understand that 'Bering Sea' names a sea. However, 'Bering' is a proper name without independent lexical meaning, so the specific geographic referent and detailed sense (between Alaska and Siberia, connection to the Arctic) cannot be derived from the words alone, requiring encyclopedic knowledge.
Etymology
Bering Sea is named after the explorer Vitus Bering, who sailed these northern waters in the 1700s. That's why Bering Sea now refers to the body of water 'between Alaska and Siberia'.