Gulf of Mexico
57
2.5
- proper noun
- /ɡʌlf əv mɛkˈsɪkoʊ/
:
Golfo de México
- Penaeid shrimp spawn in the Gulf of Mexico, and larvae are carried into estuaries.
- Gulf of Mexico fishery
- Gulf of Mexico shrimp
- Gulf of Mexico oil spill
This is why Congress must pass my bill renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
- This is why Congress must pass my bill renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
- You're telling me you can get from the Gulf of Mexico to Jamaica, Mexico and back in five days?
Examples
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The Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010 devastated the Gulf of Mexico ecologically and economically.
Blog text (3) -
The lagoon feeds directly into the Gulf of Mexico.
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"I think it would be fun to do that, and to see the Gulf of Mexico."
Fiction book (1992) -
I lost a man during an oil rig operation in the Gulf of Mexico a few years ago.
Fiction book (2001) -
In the summer, we could float past the city and down to the Gulf of Mexico.
Fiction book (2002) -
Well, Galveston's on the Gulf of Mexico.
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The Gulf license is required in order to land shrimp caught in Gulf of Mexico waters.
Academic text (1991) -
Oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico have threatened marine life and the viability of fisheries.
Academic text (1991) -
Last summer, we took a boat trip in the Gulf of Mexico to explore its beautiful waters.
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Many species of fish thrive in the Gulf of Mexico, making it a popular spot for fishing.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'gulf' (a stretch of sea) combined with the genitive 'of' and the place name 'Mexico' indicates a gulf associated with Mexico, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will readily infer the referent. This noun-of-place naming pattern is cross-linguistically common and follows standard English place-name composition, making the expression immediately transparent.
Etymology
Gulf of Mexico comes from early Spanish sailors who called the large bay next to the land of Mexico 'Golfo de México'. The word gulf means a large sea bay, so the name simply means 'the big bay by Mexico' and is used for the sea south of the United States.