Red Sea

noun

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

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

Narrow sea between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.

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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.

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Word History and Origins

Origin of Red Sea¹

Translation of Latin Mare Rubrum, from Greek ��ٳ��à Thálassa “Red Sea,” a translation of Hebrew Yam Sūph “Sea of Reeds.” The reason for ��ٳ��à (Thálassa) is unknown; perhaps ��ٳ��à 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”)

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

�� if – on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula - the Houthis in Yemen redouble their efforts to attack shipping in the Red Sea?

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Last week, he kinda-sorta declared victory, announcing that the U.S. was stopping its bombing of the Houthis because they had agreed to stop attacking U.S. warships in the Red Sea.

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A massive increase in the price of water is just one consequence of a week of aerial attacks on the Red Sea city of Port Sudan.

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The attacks forced even major shipping companies to stop using the Red Sea - through which almost 15% of global seaborne trade usually passes - and to take a much longer route around southern Africa instead.

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The port is the second-largest in the Red Sea after Aden, and is the entry point for about 80% of Yemen's food imports.

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Red Scare Red Sea, parting of the

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