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Glite Dictionary
Tyrrhenian Sea

Tyrrhenian Sea

1 6.3
A part of the Mediterranean Sea between western Italy and the islands Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily
  • proper noun
: mar Tirreno
  • The Tyrrhenian Sea is known for its deep blue waters and scenic islands.

Examples

  • Many cruise ships travel through the Tyrrhenian Sea on their way to the Italian coast.

  • It's an ambitious landing off the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea at Nettuno.

    Red Tails (2012)

  • Many tourists visit the Tyrrhenian Sea during the summer.

Surface Forms

Tyrrhenian Sea main

Morphology

Tyrrhenian + sea

The compound follows the transparent naming pattern 'X Sea' so the word 'sea' gives the general sense of a body of water; however 'Tyrrhenian' is a proper name without lexical meaning for learners, so the specific referent or location cannot be derived from the constituents alone. Cross-linguistically, place-name + sea constructions are common (so the pattern is predictable), but understanding which sea this is requires prior knowledge of the proper name.

Etymology

Tyrrhenian Sea: One popular story says the name Tyrrhenian Sea comes from an ancient group called the Tyrrhenians, who lived along and sailed these waters long ago. That's why the Sea part means 'the body of water', and today the name refers to the sea between Italy and the nearby islands.