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Glite Dictionary
Tasman Sea

Tasman Sea

1 3.4
A part of the southern Pacific Ocean between southeast Australia and New Zealand
  • noun
  • /ˈtæzmən siː/
: mar de Tasmania
  • The lines of surf rapping in from the Tasman Sea.

Examples

  • It was ten years later before a cable was laid across the Tasman Sea, linking New Zealand to Australia.

    Academic text (1999)

  • Leaving Australia, we're headed 1,200 miles across the Tasman Sea... to New Zealand.

    The Endless Summer (1966)

  • Like Hammertime and Murinur, I'm part of the down-under contingent (on the other side of the Tasman Sea).

    Blog text (10)

  • New Zealand and Australia are separated by the Tasman Sea.

  • We sailed across the Tasman Sea to reach New Zealand from Australia.

  • The Tasman Sea is known for its rough waters and stunning views.

Surface Forms

Tasman Sea singular
Tasman Seas plural

Morphology

Tasman + sea

The noun 'sea' makes it clear to a B1 learner that the expression denotes a body of water, and the pattern ProperName + sea is compositionally transparent in indicating a named sea. However, the referent 'Tasman' is a proper name whose specific geographic relation (between southeastern Australia and New Zealand) cannot be derived from the constituent words alone, so the full, specific meaning is not predictable without prior knowledge.

Etymology

Tasman Sea is named after the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, who in 1642 was the first European to sail the waters between Australia and New Zealand. Because the sea lay where he sailed, people called it after him, so today Tasman Sea means the ocean between southeastern Australia and New Zealand.