Skip to main content
Gulf of St. Lawrence

Gulf of St. Lawrence

3.9
A large area of sea where the St Lawrence River meets the Atlantic Ocean near eastern Canada
  • proper noun
translation icon : Golfo de San Lorenzo
  • Many fishing villages are scattered along the coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Examples

  • Icebergs occasionally drift down into the Gulf of St. Lawrence during the spring months.

  • The Gulf of St. Lawrence is known for its rich marine biodiversity.

  • The Gulf of St. Lawrence is home to a wide variety of marine life, including whales and seals.

  • Many tourists visit the Gulf of St. Lawrence every summer.

  • Oceanographers often conduct research on the diverse marine life found in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

  • The fishing industry relies heavily on the rich resources of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

  • Many tourists visit the beautiful shores of the Gulf of St. Lawrence during the summer months.

Synonyms

Gulf of Saint Lawrence
vsGulf of St. Lawrence
3.9

A large inlet of the Atlantic Ocean next to eastern Canada

is written using the place name's abbreviated form not the full word

Surface Forms

Morphology

gulf + of + St. + Lawrence

This is a compositional place name: 'gulf' (a large inlet) + 'of' + 'St. Lawrence' (a proper name, here the river), so a learner who knows the constituent words can infer it denotes the inlet associated with the St. Lawrence River. The 'Gulf of X' pattern is a common, cross-linguistic geographic naming pattern, making the meaning readily derivable for B1 learners.

Etymology

Gulf of St. Lawrence comes from the word gulf, which means 'a large sea bay', and from the St. Lawrence River that flows into it. So the image of a big river opening into the ocean explains why it means the 'inlet' of the Atlantic by southeastern Canada.