Red Sea

noun

1. an arm of the Indian Ocean, extending northwest between Africa and Arabia: connected to the Mediterranean by the Suez Canal. 1,450 miles (2,335 kilometers) long; 170,000 square miles (440,300 square kilometers); greatest depth, 7,254 feet (2,211 meters).

Red Sea

noun

1. a long narrow sea between Arabia and NE Africa, linked with the Mediterranean in the north by the Suez Canal and with the Indian Ocean in the south: occasionally reddish in appearance through algae. Area: 438 000 sq km (169 000 sq miles)

Red Sea

1. Narrow sea between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.

According to the Bible (see also Bible), the Red Sea's waters parted to allow the Israelites, led by Moses, to escape the pursuing Egyptian army. The “Red Sea” of the biblical account, however, seems more likely to have been the marshy Sea of Reeds than the present-day Red Sea.

Probably named for the red algae that are sometimes present in its waters.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Red Sea¹

Translation of Latin Mare Rubrum, from Greek Erythrà Thálassa “Red Sea,” a translation of Hebrew Yam Sūph “Sea of Reeds.” The reason for Erythrà (Thálassa) is unknown; perhaps Erythrà refers to seasonal blooms of red algae on the on the surface of the water, or to ancient associations of “red” with “south,” (as “black” with “north,” as in “Black Sea”)

Example Sentences

During childhood fishing trips with his father in the Red Sea, he remembers it being “very hard to watch” fish suffocating after they were caught.

From Los Angeles Times

Six crew members have been rescued and at least three others killed after a cargo ship was attacked by Yemen's Houthis and sank in the Red Sea, a European naval mission says.

From BBC

It is located at a strategically important pinch point leading on to the Red Sea and Suez Canal - one of the world's most important shipping routes.

From BBC

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels have regularly launched missiles at Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and attacked commercial ships in the Red Sea.

From BBC

It could also ask its allies in Yemen, the Houthis, to resume their attacks on Western shipping passing between the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.

From BBC