Oceanic

1 9.4

A group of languages spoken on the Pacific islands

noun
/oʊˈsiːənɪk/

Specialized

: oceanico

Synonyms

Eastern Malayo-Polynesian

vsOceanic

Specialized

9.8

A group of languages related to Malay and Polynesian spoken in eastern Indonesia and the Pacific

is limited to languages spoken on Pacific islands rather than broader eastern regions

Compounds

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Formal

2 4.9

A United States government agency that monitors oceans and weather and issues forecasts and warnings for natural disasters

oceanic bird

7.0

A bird that lives mainly on the open sea far from land

oceanic bonito

8.4

A fish whose dried, flaked meat is used in Japanese cooking

oceanic whitetip shark

6.1

A large shark with white tips on its fins that lives in warm open oceans and can attack people

oceanic abyss

Specialized

8.8

A very deep, steep place on the ocean floor where Earth's plates meet

Surface Forms

Oceanic singular

Oceanics plural

Morphology

Oceanic = ocean (transparent) = ocean + ic

The adjective 'oceanic' is transparently formed by adding the productive suffix '-ic' to 'ocean', yielding 'relating to the ocean'.

Etymology

Oceanic comes from the root ocean-, which means 'sea', plus the ending -ic, meaning 'of or relating to'. So Oceanic simply means 'of the sea' and is used for the group of languages spoken across the islands of the Pacific Ocean, which helps you remember these are island languages.