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Glite Dictionary
sea gull

sea gull

1.0
A mostly white bird with long wings that lives near the sea or lakes
  • noun
  • /ˈsiː ˌɡʌl/
translation icon : gaviota
  • The children were excited to see a sea gull dive to catch a fish near the shore.
  • Lapland sea gulls

Examples

  • As I sat on the pier, I noticed a sea gull perched on a post, scanning the water.

  • Come on, you old large, limping sea gull.

    China Seas (1935)

  • While walking along the beach, we watched a sea gull soaring effortlessly above the waves.

Synonyms

seagull
vssea gull
51 1.0

A white bird with long wings that lives near the sea

is the same bird but written as two separate words
gull
vssea gull
27 2.0

A medium to large white seabird with long pointed wings and short legs

refers to a mostly white coastal bird without stressing size or call

Surface Forms

sea gull singular
sea gulls plural
seagulls plural
seagull singular

Morphology

sea + gull

The meaning 'a gull associated with the sea' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'sea' (large body of saltwater) with 'gull' (a coastal bird), so a learner who knows both words can infer the compound meaning. This noun-compound pattern is compositional and cross-linguistically common, making it immediately understandable to B1 learners.

Etymology

Sea gull comes from the words sea + gull, simply naming a gull that lives by the sea. Imagine a white bird at the beach swooping down to steal a chip, and that picture helps you remember it means 'a coastal bird'.