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Glite Dictionary
Cook Strait

Cook Strait

4.9
A narrow sea channel between New Zealand's North Island and South Island
  • proper noun
translation icon : estrecho de Cook
  • Many tourists enjoy the scenic views of the Cook Strait while traveling between the two islands.

Examples

  • Spanning these two imaginatively titled isles is a turbulent stretch of water known as the Cook Strait.

    The Devil Dared Me To (2007)

  • The ferry sails across the Cook Strait to transport people between the North and South Islands of New Zealand.

  • The Cook Strait is known for its strong currents and beautiful marine life.

Surface Forms

Cook Strait main

Morphology

Cook + strait

This is a compositional place name: a proper name 'Cook' plus the geographic noun 'strait' (a narrow sea channel). A B1 learner who knows 'strait' will readily infer it refers to a specific narrow body of water (here between islands); the use of a name + feature is cross-linguistically common, so the meaning is transparent even if the learner doesn't know the exact location.

Etymology

Cook Strait is named after the explorer Captain James Cook, who sailed and mapped the area. The word strait means 'a narrow piece of sea' between lands, so the name now means the narrow water between New Zealand's North and South Islands.