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Glite Dictionary
San Diego Bay

San Diego Bay

2.2
A large natural bay on the Pacific coast next to the city of San Diego
  • proper noun
  • /sæn ˈdiːəɡoʊ beɪ/
translation icon : bahía de San Diego
  • I love sailing in San Diego Bay.

Examples

  • Boats often gather in the San Diego Bay to enjoy the beautiful sunset views over the water.

  • The naval base is strategically located on the shores of San Diego Bay.

  • Tourists enjoy sailing in San Diego Bay for its beautiful scenery and calm waters.

  • Wildlife enthusiasts often observe migratory birds around San Diego Bay during the winter months.

  • Have you ever visited San Diego Bay?

  • The fireworks show over the San Diego Bay attracts thousands of locals and tourists every Fourth of July.

  • Many species of birds can be spotted along the shores of San Diego Bay, making it a great spot for birdwatching.

Surface Forms

San Diego Bay main

Morphology

San + Diego + bay

The noun 'bay' clearly means a coastal inlet, and the preceding words form a place name, so the phrase is compositional: it denotes the bay associated with the place San Diego. Even if learners do not know details about the city, the PlaceName + bay pattern is cross-linguistically common and allows a B1 learner who knows 'bay' to infer the general meaning (a bay near San Diego).

Etymology

San Diego Bay comes from the city's Spanish name San Diego, which is the name of a 'saint', and the word Bay means a wide area of sea next to the land. Early Spanish visitors called the place 'San Diego', so the large natural 'harbor' by the city became known as San Diego Bay.